Jaipur, Sept. 1 -- The nomination process for Rajasthan's urban local body elections concluded on Monday, with candidates filing papers for 10,245 wards across 309 bodies amid confusion, protests and defections over ticket distribution in the BJP and Congress. . Both the BJP and Congress avoided publicly releasing complete candidate lists in several cities, instead submitting authorisation letters directly to returning officers to avoid rebellion by ticket aspirants. The BJP announced 145 candidates for Jaipur's 150 wards and 92 for Jodhpur's 100 wards. In Kota, it fielded candidates in all 100 wards but did not release a public list. Both parties announced candidates for all 65 wards of Alwar Municipal Corporation. The BJP fielded eight Muslim candidates in Jaipur. A dispute emerged over Ward 146 after former deputy mayor Puneet Karnavat's name appeared in the party list, while Kuldeep Mishra filed his nomination with the BJP's official authorisation letter. Malviya Nagar MLA Kalicharan Saraf said Mishra had initially been finalised before the party changed its candidate. The BJP denied a ticket to outgoing Jaipur mayor Kusum Yadav and fielded state vice-president Sunil Kothari. Pratibha Sharma, wife of chief minister Bhajanlal Sharma's officer on special duty Anand Sharma, was also nominated. Former Jaipur mayor Jyoti Khandelwal was fielded from Kishanpole. She had won the 2009 mayoral election as a Congress candidate before joining the BJP. In Congress, former Jaipur city president and Hawa Mahal assembly candidate RR Tiwari protested outside Jaipur in-charge Rohit Bohra's residence, alleging he was sidelined in ticket distribution. He accused Congress MLAs Rafiq Khan and Amin Kagzi of securing tickets for their supporters in other constituencies. Separately, supporters of a Bagru ticket aspirant protested outside city Congress president Sunil Sharma's residence, alleging he had promised their candidate a ticket but later fielded someone else. They demanded Sharma's removal and threatened mass resignations. Congress office-bearers declined to comment. In Kota, two women Congress candidates allegedly missed the nomination deadline, while in Bhilwara some candidates could not submit authorisation letters. Two BJP mandal presidents resigned in Alwar, while Congress workers burnt an effigy of Sharma. In Lalsot, former BJP municipal vice-chairperson Purushottam Joshi and his brother, BJP leader Dinesh Joshi, joined Congress. Earlier, senior BJP leader Rakesh Bhati, husband of Pali Municipal Council chairperson Rekha Bhati, also joined Congress. The nomination process began on August 27. Papers will be scrutinised on September 1, withdrawals are allowed until September 3, polling will be held on September 9 and 11, and counting on September 14. The BJP has traditionally controlled a larger share of urban local body boards in Rajasthan's major cities. It has dominated Jaipur for most of the past two decades. After the 2020 division, the BJP controlled Jaipur Greater and Congress Jaipur Heritage. The BJP now controls the unified corporation following their re-merger. In Jodhpur, power has alternated between the two parties, while the BJP has remained dominant in Ajmer, Udaipur and Bikaner. Bharatpur has often produced hung verdicts, while Alwar has alternated between the BJP and Congress. Bhilwara has traditionally been a BJP stronghold. The State Election Commission has barred parties and candidates from seeking votes on religious, caste or sectarian grounds and from using religious places for campaigning. Canvassing is prohibited within 400 metres of polling stations, while candidate camps must be at least 200 metres away and cannot display posters, flags or election symbols. Gatherings and food distribution are also barred. Voter slips must be on plain white paper without candidate or party names or symbols. Candidates and workers cannot buy, offer or distribute liquor during the 48 hours before polling closes or on polling day, or transport voters in their vehicles. The ruling party is barred from using government vehicles, machinery or employees for campaigning. Impersonation and voting under a false identity are also prohibited....