Jaswant Kanwar Becomes Bhilwara's First Woman Mayor

By: Women Entrepreneurs Review Team | Friday, 18 September 2026

Jaswant Kanwar, a first-time councilor and BJP worker, has been elected unopposed as the first woman mayor of the Bhilwara Municipal Corporation. Her election followed the withdrawal of nomination by independent councilor Santosh Kanwar.

The 38-year-old BJP candidate submitted her nomination for the mayoral election on Wednesday. She emerged as the sole candidate after no Congress councilor filed a nomination for the post.

The Bhilwara Municipal Corporation has 70 wards, with the BJP holding 45 seats. Independent councilors secured 15 wards, while the Congress won 10 seats in the civic elections.

Santosh, an independent councilor from Ward 10 and former BJP associate, had initially entered the mayoral race. She withdrew her nomination on Thursday, clearing the way for Jaswant’s unopposed election.

Key Highlights:

• Jaswant Kanwar becomes the first woman mayor of Bhilwara Municipal Corporation
• The BJP holds 45 of the civic body’s 70 wards
• Jaswant plans to focus on welfare schemes, civic services and women’s empowerment

Following her victory, Jaswant stated that the BJP had given a chance to an ordinary worker like her to contest for the mayor's post. She stated that she would emphasize welfare schemes of the Centre and state Govts at the ground level and empower women.

Jaswant was born in Lachhuda village in Bhilwara district’s Asind assembly constituency and is married into a family in Bhilwara. She is a BA in Political Science and an MA in History. She, who had contested civic elections on the BJP ticket on Ward-9, defeated Khushbu Sharma by 2,165 votes.

BJP district president Prashant Mewara explained to Santosh that it would be in the best interest for her to step aside from the race. He said that Santosh had contested the councilor’s election as an independent candidate as he had not got a ticket from the BJP from Ward 10 and had secured the victory.

Jaswant is the first woman mayor of Bhilwara Municipal Corporation and will preside over a board comprising 45 BJP members out of 70 wards. The new mayor will be tasked with handling civic administration and solving problems of basic urban development.

She will most likely focus on enhancing sanitation, water supply, roads, drainage, city hall and traffic management facilities. Jaswant has also stated that its implementation at the ground level and empowerment of women will be a focus of her attention under the umbrella of the central government and state government welfare schemes.

The Bhilwara civic body was upgraded to a municipal corporation and the local elections have now created the 70-member civic body of the city.Kanwar has been elected as the civic body of Bhilwara was upgraded to a municipal corporation and the local elections have now established its 70-member civic body. With Santosh's withdrawal, her unopposed election follows, as she is the only one standing for the mayoralty post.