Rajasthan Current Affairs 2 September 2026

Welcome to the Ujiyari Rajasthan Current Affairs notes for 2 September 2026, prepared for RPSC and other State PCS aspirants. The civic round has passed scrutiny and enters its withdrawal window, with polling in two phases next week across 309 urban local bodies. Separately, the Supreme Court Collegium has recommended a permanent Chief Justice for the Rajasthan High Court, ending an acting arrangement that has run since September 2025 and that a sitting Supreme Court judge had complained about in three letters to the Chief Justice of India. Each item carries a Prelims fact set and a Mains angle, followed by five practice MCQs.

A note on sourcing for this edition. Newspaper and government websites were not reachable from the drafting environment on 2 September 2026 because of the session’s network egress policy, so every item rests on web-search corroboration across multiple independent reports rather than on a fetch of the publisher’s own page.

1. The Withdrawal Window Opens Across 309 Urban Local Bodies

Why in News: With scrutiny of nominations completed on 1 September 2026, the withdrawal deadline of 3 September now fixes the final field for Rajasthan’s urban local body general elections, which poll on 9 and 11 September.

The sequence, in order. Notification 27 August; nominations filed on 27, 29 and 31 August; scrutiny 1 September; withdrawal closes 3 September; polling 9 and 11 September; counting and results 14 September 2026.

Why withdrawal is a distinct stage and not a formality. Between scrutiny and withdrawal, a party knows exactly which of its own and its rivals’ nominations survived. The withdrawal window is therefore the stage at which alliance arithmetic is settled: a party withdraws a candidate to consolidate a vote behind an ally, or a rebel is persuaded to stand down. Symbols are allotted only after withdrawal closes, because the final list of contesting candidates is not known until then.

Rajasthan Relevance:

• Prelims: Scrutiny was on 1 September 2026 and withdrawal closes on 3 September 2026.
• Prelims: Polling is in two phases, 9 and 11 September, with counting on 14 September 2026.
• Prelims: Symbols are allotted after the withdrawal window closes.
• Prelims: Municipal elections are conducted by the State Election Commission under Article 243ZA.
• Mains: The withdrawal window as the point at which pre-poll alliances are actually executed, and why the stages of an election calendar are analytically distinct rather than administrative detail (GS2 elections, local government).

2. The Scale of the Round: 309 Bodies and About 10,245 Seats

Why in News: This is Rajasthan’s first simultaneous urban local body election, the first held under the State’s “One State, One Election” policy, covering 309 urban local bodies and about 10,245 councillor seats. The terms of most of these bodies had ended about a year earlier, and administrators were appointed in the interim so that all could poll together.

The composition of the round:

The constitutional classification behind that table. Article 243Q requires every state to constitute three categories of municipality: a Nagar Panchayat for a transitional area, that is an area in transition from rural to urban; a Municipal Council for a smaller urban area; and a Municipal Corporation for a larger urban area. The classification is by population and economic character, and the criteria are fixed by state law within that frame.

Why simultaneous polling is constitutionally constrained. Article 243U gives a municipality a term of five years from the date appointed for its first meeting, and requires that an election be completed before the expiry of that term. A dissolved municipality must be reconstituted within six months, and the new body serves only the remainder of the original term. Synchronisation therefore cannot be achieved by postponing an election; it has to be achieved by aligning terms through legislation and transitional provisions.

Rajasthan Relevance:

• Prelims: The round covers 309 bodies: 10 corporations, 47 councils and 252 municipalities.
• Prelims: About 10,245 councillor seats are in contest.
• Prelims: Article 243Q provides for Nagar Panchayats, Municipal Councils and Municipal Corporations.
• Prelims: Article 243U fixes a five-year term from the date appointed for the first meeting.
• Prelims: A municipality constituted on dissolution serves only the remainder of the original term.
• Mains: Synchronised local elections as administrative reform, and the constitutional limits Article 243U places on achieving it (GS2 local government, elections).

3. BJP Announces Candidates for 145 Jaipur Municipal Corporation Wards

Why in News: The Bharatiya Janata Party announced candidates for 145 of the 150 wards of the Jaipur Municipal Corporation on 31 August 2026, the final day for filing nominations, with the remaining five wards still under consideration. The list includes former Mayor Jyoti Khandelwal, Jaipur’s first woman mayor, and about 35 per cent women against the one-third reservation.

Why corporations poll in the second phase. The first phase on 9 September covers members of municipal councils and municipalities; the second phase on 11 September covers members of municipal corporations. The phasing follows the category of body, not geography, which is why the larger cities poll together on the later day.

The reservation architecture that shapes ward candidate selection. Article 243T requires reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in every municipality in proportion to their population, and reservation of not less than one-third of the total seats for women, including one-third of the seats reserved for SCs and STs. Reserved seats are allotted by rotation to different constituencies. State law may additionally provide for reservation of seats or chairperson posts for backward classes. This is why ward-by-ward candidate selection in a corporation is a constrained exercise rather than a free one.

Rajasthan Relevance:

• Prelims: The BJP announced candidates for 145 of the 150 Jaipur Municipal Corporation wards on 31 August 2026.
• Prelims: Phase one covers councils and municipalities; phase two covers corporations.
• Prelims: Article 243T mandates SC and ST reservation in proportion to population in municipalities.
• Prelims: Not less than one-third of total municipal seats are reserved for women.
• Prelims: Reserved seats are allotted by rotation to different constituencies.
• Mains: Rotational reservation in urban local bodies, its effect on the continuity of local political leadership, and the arguments for and against longer rotation cycles (GS2 local government, representation).

4. Collegium Recommends Justice Sanjay K. Agrawal as Rajasthan High Court Chief Justice

Why in News: Following its meeting of 31 August 2026, the Supreme Court Collegium notified a recommendation to transfer Justice Sanjay K. Agrawal, a Judge of the Chhattisgarh High Court, to the Rajasthan High Court, and separately to elevate him as its Chief Justice.

Two notifications, not one, and the distinction is examinable. A judge of one High Court cannot simply be appointed Chief Justice of another; the judge must first be transferred to that court under Article 222, and then appointed its Chief Justice under Article 217. The Collegium accordingly issued two separate recommendations covering the transfer and the elevation.

What the round covered. The same set of notifications covered the Madhya Pradesh High Court, where Justice Alpesh Yeshvant Kogje of the Gujarat High Court is recommended, and the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court. The Chhattisgarh recommendation, of Justice Krushna Ram Mohapatra of the Orissa High Court, belongs to an earlier round and is given here as background; it was made on 6 August 2026 against the incumbent’s retirement on 4 September 2026.

Where the Rajasthan High Court sits. Its principal seat is at Jodhpur, with a bench at Jaipur.

Rajasthan Relevance:

• Prelims: Justice Sanjay K. Agrawal of the Chhattisgarh High Court is recommended as Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court.
• Prelims: The recommendation required two notifications, a transfer and an elevation.
• Prelims: Article 222 governs the transfer of a judge from one High Court to another.
• Prelims: The Rajasthan High Court’s principal seat is at Jodhpur, with a bench at Jaipur.
• Prelims: The Collegium meeting was held on 31 August 2026 under CJI Surya Kant.
• Mains: The transfer power under Article 222, its use for both administrative convenience and institutional correction, and the safeguards against its misuse (GS2 judiciary).

5. The Complaint Against the Acting Chief Justice

Why in News: The Collegium’s recommendation of a permanent Chief Justice for Rajasthan follows a complaint about the court’s administration. Justice Sandeep Mehta of the Supreme Court had written three letters during August 2026 to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, alleging maladministration, malpractice, nepotism and favouritism by Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma, the Acting Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court, and seeking the appointment of a Chief Justice from another state with immediate effect.

What the letters allege. The manipulation of case listings to favour particular litigants, irregularities in rostering, and a complaint concerning permanent Lok Adalat appointments at Jaipur and Ajmer said to have gone to persons close to the Acting Chief Justice. Justice Mehta is himself from the Rajasthan High Court and stated that he had received grievances from judges and advocates.

These are allegations and remain unproven. The Chief Justice of India said on 26 August that allegations against a sitting judge must go through the established institutional mechanism, that no conclusion can be reached without giving Justice Sharma an opportunity of hearing, and that the Supreme Court “cannot allow individual complaints concerning judges to be determined through competing claims in the media”. In an examination answer, record that a complaint was made and that a permanent Chief Justice was subsequently recommended from outside the state. Do not record the allegations as established. Nothing in the public record establishes them.

The situation in the court itself. The High Court bar resolved to abstain from work until 6 September, demanding a permanent Chief Justice, and the Acting Chief Justice has taken leave, holding no sitting from 1 to 5 September under the Jaipur bench roster.

Why the acting arrangement was going to persist. Justice Sharma has been Acting Chief Justice since September 2025. Absent a Collegium recommendation for a permanent Chief Justice, he would have continued in charge until his retirement on 26 September 2026.

The structural point. Under Article 223, an Acting Chief Justice exercises the full administrative powers of the office, including the roster, which is the allocation of subjects and cases among benches and the most consequential administrative power a High Court Chief Justice holds. That power is exercised without the appointment scrutiny a permanent Chief Justice passes through and without a fixed term.

Rajasthan Relevance:

• Prelims: The letters were dated 2, 10 and 17 August 2026 and addressed to CJI Surya Kant.
• Prelims: Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma has been Acting Chief Justice since September 2025.
• Prelims: He is due to retire on 26 September 2026.
• Prelims: The Acting Chief Justice is on leave from 1 to 5 September 2026 amid a bar abstention from work until 6 September.
• Prelims: Article 223 provides for the appointment of an Acting Chief Justice of a High Court.
• Prelims: The roster, the allocation of cases among benches, is a Chief Justice’s administrative power.
• Mains: The absence of a defined procedure for complaints about the administrative conduct of a High Court Chief Justice, and whether the in-house mechanism should be published with timelines (GS2 judiciary, accountability).

6. A Rajasthan High Court Judge Moves to Head Another High Court

Why in News: In the same round, the Collegium recommended the elevation of Justice Pushpendra Singh Bhati, currently a Judge of the Rajasthan High Court, as Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court.

Why one High Court appears on both sides of a single round. Rajasthan receives a Chief Justice from Chhattisgarh and supplies a Chief Justice to Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. This is the ordinary working of the convention that a Chief Justice comes from outside the court concerned: the pool of candidates is the senior judges of all High Courts, so a court that has senior judges will export Chief Justices while importing its own.

The court concerned. The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh is a common High Court for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the Union Territory of Ladakh, both created by the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019. It was renamed to its present form in 2021. Article 231 permits Parliament to establish a common High Court for two or more states.

Rajasthan Relevance:

• Prelims: Justice Pushpendra Singh Bhati of the Rajasthan High Court is recommended for the J&K and Ladakh High Court.
• Prelims: The J&K and Ladakh High Court is a common High Court for two Union Territories.
• Prelims: Both Union Territories were created by the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.
• Prelims: The court was renamed to its present form in 2021.
• Prelims: Article 231 permits a common High Court for two or more states.
• Mains: The all-India character of the higher judiciary, maintained through transfer and outside appointment, and its effect on judicial independence at the state level (GS2 judiciary, federalism).

Practice MCQs

1. In the Rajasthan urban local body elections of September 2026, the allotment of election symbols to contesting candidates takes place at which stage?

a) Immediately on filing of the nomination paper b) After the close of the withdrawal window c) At the time of scrutiny by the Returning Officer d) On the morning of the poll

Answer: b Explanation: Symbols are allotted after the withdrawal window closes, because the final list of contesting candidates is not known until withdrawals are complete. In this round, nominations were filed up to 31 August 2026, scrutiny was held on 1 September and withdrawal closed on 3 September, with polling on 9 and 11 September and counting on 14 September. The withdrawal stage is also when pre-poll alliance arithmetic is executed, since parties by then know which nominations survived scrutiny.

2. Under Article 243T of the Constitution, the reservation of seats for women in a municipality is fixed at which level?

a) Not less than one-third of the total number of seats, including one-third of those reserved for SCs and STs b) Exactly one-half of the total number of seats in all municipalities c) A proportion determined solely by the State Election Commission d) Not less than one-fifth of the total number of seats

Answer: a Explanation: Article 243T requires that not less than one-third of the total number of seats in every municipality be reserved for women, and that this one-third applies also within the seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Seats for SCs and STs are themselves reserved in proportion to their population in the municipal area, and reserved seats are allotted by rotation to different constituencies. State legislatures may additionally provide for reservation for backward classes.

3. To make a judge of one High Court the Chief Justice of a different High Court, which sequence is constitutionally required?

a) Direct appointment as Chief Justice under Article 217, with no transfer needed b) Election by the judges of the receiving High Court followed by presidential assent c) Transfer to the receiving High Court under Article 222, followed by appointment as its Chief Justice d) Appointment by the Governor of the receiving state on the Chief Minister’s advice

Answer: c Explanation: A judge must first be transferred to the receiving High Court under Article 222, which empowers the President after consultation with the Chief Justice of India to transfer a judge from one High Court to another, and then be appointed Chief Justice of that court under Article 217. This is why the Collegium issued two separate notifications for Justice Sanjay K. Agrawal, one recording the transfer from the Chhattisgarh High Court to the Rajasthan High Court and one recording his elevation as Chief Justice.

4. Which of the following correctly describes the office of an Acting Chief Justice of a High Court?

a) The office is created by statute and the incumbent has limited judicial but no administrative powers b) The incumbent may only hear cases and has no power over the roster c) The office does not exist in the Constitution and arises only by practice d) The office is provided for by Article 223, and the incumbent exercises the full administrative powers of the office, including the roster

Answer: d Explanation: Article 223 provides that when the office of Chief Justice of a High Court is vacant, or the Chief Justice is absent or unable to perform the duties, the President may appoint one of the other judges of that court to act as Chief Justice. The Acting Chief Justice exercises the full administrative powers of the office, including control over the roster, which is the allocation of subjects and cases among benches. The structural criticism is that this power is exercised without the appointment scrutiny that a permanent Chief Justice undergoes and without a fixed term.

5. The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh is best described as which of the following?

a) A High Court exercising jurisdiction only over the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir b) A common High Court for the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and of Ladakh c) A bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court d) A tribunal constituted under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019

Answer: b Explanation: The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh is a common High Court exercising jurisdiction over both the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the Union Territory of Ladakh, which were created by the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019. The court was renamed to its present form in 2021. Article 231 of the Constitution permits Parliament by law to establish a common High Court for two or more states, and comparable arrangements exist elsewhere in India.