Kota Civic Elections Hand BJP the Municipal Corporation as Healthcare Questions and Industrial News Mount
Kota's 2026 urban local body elections have handed the BJP control of the Municipal Corporation, with the party securing 50 of the contested ward seats against Congress's 30, following a season of voting and repolling across Rajasthan. The electoral outcome came alongside Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma's visit to the city to rally voters ahead of mayoral polls scheduled for September 25. Separately, two women died at a Kota healthcare facility after being referred from a Bundi district hospital following cesarean sections, prompting protests and negligence allegations; and DCM Shriram's Fenesta division commissioned a new aluminium extrusion plant in the city, opening a fresh manufacturing vertical.
BJP Wins Kota Municipal Corporation; Congress Claims Repolling Seats Across Rajasthan
The BJP has secured the Kota municipal council in the 2026 Rajasthan Urban Local Body polls, according to ThePrint. The party won the Kota Municipal Corporation outright while managing to hold on in Bundi only with the support of independent councillors, pointing to a fragmented outcome across the state. Repolling was ordered in Kota along with Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Suket after irregularities were identified in earlier voting rounds. The repolling phase delivered a further split verdict: Congress took six ward seats against the BJP's three in that supplementary round, and swept all four Jaipur wards that returned to the ballot. Live tallies on count day recorded the final Kota Municipal Corporation result at 50 seats for the BJP and 30 for Congress, with three wards going to other candidates. Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma travelled to Kota during the campaign, framing the civic polls as a test of the state's triple-engine government — referring to aligned BJP administrations at municipal, state, and national levels — and targeting Congress over alleged corruption and appeasement politics. The mayoral election for Kota was set to follow on September 25, with the ward-level outcome giving the BJP the dominant position entering that vote. The staggered polling and repolling calendar reflected the Election Commission's effort to ensure a credible process in some of Rajasthan's most competitive urban municipalities. [5]
Two Women Die at Kota Facility After C-Section Referrals from Bundi; Third Patient Critical
Two women who underwent cesarean sections at the Bundi district women's hospital died while receiving follow-up care at a healthcare facility in Kota, ETV Bharat reported on September 17, 2026. Both patients had been referred from Bundi to Kota after their conditions deteriorated shortly after the procedures carried out at the district hospital. A third woman who underwent the same surgery at Bundi was listed as critical at the time of the report. The deaths triggered protests in the affected women's home villages, with residents staging demonstrations and demanding accountability from the hospital administration. Families and local residents raised allegations of negligence, questioning the standard of care provided at the original surgical site in Bundi as well as the adequacy of the monitoring and referral procedures that preceded the transfers to Kota. The case placed the public health system in both Bundi and Kota under scrutiny, with critics pointing to systemic gaps in post-operative supervision at government district hospitals. Cesarean section complications have been a recurring concern in government facilities across Rajasthan, where specialist shortages and capacity constraints can lengthen the time between a procedure and appropriate follow-up care. The incident added pressure on the state health administration to review C-section protocols in district-level facilities and to establish clearer standards for patient monitoring and stabilisation before any referral is undertaken. [2]
🏢 Fenesta Commissions Aluminium Extrusion Plant in Kota, Entering New Manufacturing Vertical
Fenesta, the windows and doors business of Gurugram-headquartered DCM Shriram Ltd, has commissioned a new aluminium extrusion plant in Kota, Rajasthan, expanding its manufacturing footprint and creating a new business vertical that will serve both internal and external customers, AL Circle reported in September 2026. The facility will initially supply aluminium extrusions for Fenesta's own windows and façade products, giving the company tighter control over a key part of its production chain and reducing dependence on outside suppliers. Beyond captive requirements, the Kota plant will supply extrusions to original equipment manufacturers and other buyers, allowing Fenesta to participate directly in the broader extrusion market for the first time. The company said in-house extrusion capacity would accelerate the development of new aluminium window and façade systems and enable faster response to market requirements. Saket Jain, Business Head of Fenesta, described aluminium as a fast-evolving segment with significant potential across windows, façades, and other applications, and said the plant gives the company stronger ability to innovate and scale. Fenesta's move into extrusion manufacturing represents a step toward deeper vertical integration within the DCM Shriram group's downstream aluminium operations. The choice of Kota for the new facility reflects the city's growing standing as an industrial location within Rajasthan, adding to a base of manufacturing activity that already encompasses chemicals, engineering, and textiles sectors. [9]
Sources: [5] ThePrint · [2] ETV Bharat · [9] AL Circle