A 15-second clip of the BJP leader’s post-win comment to a local journalist has triggered sharp Congress attacks, even as local BJP leaders call it a joke taken out of context
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Banswara, Rajasthan — A 15-second video clip of newly-elected Banswara Municipal Council Deputy Chairman Chunky Shah has ignited a political controversy in Rajasthan, after he was heard telling a local journalist that with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) now in power at the Centre, in the state, and in Banswara itself, “loot as much as you can.” The Congress party has seized on the remark, while local BJP leaders have dismissed it as a joke made in the heat of victory celebrations.
Loot as much as you can remark and its context
The clip surfaced in the immediate aftermath of Rajasthan’s 2026 municipal body elections, in which posts of deputy mayor, deputy chairperson and municipal vice-president were decided across the state’s civic bodies. According to Patrika, the comment was made on September 22, shortly after Shah was declared the winner of the Banswara Municipal Council’s deputy chairman election, when a local journalist put a question to him during an impromptu media interaction. Visibly in a celebratory mood, Shah is heard saying that with BJP governments now running the Centre, the state under Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, and now Banswara as well, “the one giving is giving openly, so loot as much as you can.”
A separate video, filmed with Shah seated in a car, shows him making similar remarks about BJP’s “triple-engine” governments enabling open giving, which he suggested should be exploited to the fullest.
How the video spread
The Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee (@INCRajasthan) shared the clip on its official social media handles on September 23, captioning it with a pointed jab at BJP’s “triple-engine government” rhetoric and using the video to allege corruption within the party at every level of government. Within hours, the clip was circulating widely across platforms, and Congress leaders began using it to launch broader political attacks on the state government.
Who is Chunky Shah?
The man at the centre of the controversy is a well-known Banswara city businessman and grassroots BJP functionary. Shah, 39, is a resident of Shri Ram Colony in Banswara city and the son of the late Nitin Shah. Alongside politics, he runs an established cosmetics and general goods (“shringar”) store in Banswara’s main market. He also holds positions in local community organisations — he currently serves as district vice-president of the Nema Samaj and heads the city’s historic Panch Peepli Chowk organisation.
A 13-year rise through party ranks
Shah’s political journey within the BJP spans roughly 13 years, according to Patrika’s profile. He took primary membership of the party in 2013 and was first elected as a ward councillor in the 2014 civic body elections. Recognising his organisational activity, the party made him president of the Yuva Morcha city unit in 2015, and promoted him to district vice-president of the Yuva Morcha in 2017.
In the 2019 municipal elections, he contested from Ward No. 29 on a BJP ticket and was re-elected as councillor with 523 votes. In 2021, the party appointed him district coordinator of its municipal body cell as part of an organisational expansion drive.
A record-breaking win
In the September 2026 Rajasthan municipal elections, Shah recorded what was described as the district’s biggest winning margin in the councillor’s race, defeating his nearest Congress rival from Ward No. 37 by 756 votes — among the most one-sided victories of the entire 2026 civic polls in the district.
He went on to contest the deputy chairman’s post in the 60-ward Banswara Municipal Council. The BJP fielded him against Congress’s Fakruddin Ratlamwala, the councillor from Ward No. 57. In the voting held on September 22, Shah secured 37 votes against Fakruddin’s 23, winning by a margin of 14 votes.
Political and civic backdrop
The controversy comes against the backdrop of a broader BJP sweep of Banswara’s civic body, which had been under Congress control since 2019. In the same round of results, BJP’s Mukesh Rawat was elected council chairman, defeating Congress’s Gautam Maida by 14 votes — meaning the party captured both the top posts in the council. Congress leaders have described the shift as a “coup” that ended their long hold on the board.
Reactions: Congress attacks, BJP calls it a joke
Congress leaders have argued the remark exposes what they describe as the BJP’s real mindset toward local governance and public resources, framing it as an admission of intent rather than a slip of the tongue. Party workers have amplified the clip as evidence of complacency and entitlement among newly-elected BJP representatives.
Local BJP leaders in Banswara, on the other hand, have pushed back, saying the comment was made informally and in jest during light-hearted banter amid the excitement of victory, and that it is being unfairly given a political colour after being taken out of context. As of this report, Shah himself has not issued a detailed personal statement, and neither the state BJP unit nor Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma’s office has released an official response.
Where things stand
The political exchange between Banswara and Jaipur over the remark was continuing as of September 24, with no confirmation of any formal action — disciplinary or otherwise — against Shah by the BJP. The episode has emerged just as the party was celebrating its broader gains in Rajasthan’s 2026 urban local body elections, adding an unexpected complication to its post-poll messaging in the tribal-belt district.
