CHANDIGARH: BJP dominated the municipal polls in Haryana, winning nine of the 10 mayoral seats Wednesday and dealing another heavy blow to Congress after the saffron party’s resounding assembly election victory to retain office for a third consecutive term last Oct.
BJP’s triumph in the polls held on March 2 extended across key municipal corporations, including Gurgaon, Faridabad, Hisar, Rohtak, Karnal, Yamunanagar, Panipat, Ambala, and Sonipat. The lone exception was Manesar, where Union minister Rao Inderjeet Singh-backed independent candidate Inderjeet Yadav clinched victory.
Woman candidates secured seven of the 10 mayoral positions. BJP’s Parveen Joshi won the mayoral post in Faridabad, defeating Congress’s Lata Rani by the largest margin of 316,852 votes.
CM Nayab Singh Saini hailed BJP’s sweeping victory as a public endorsement of the party’s governance. “The results show that people want a ‘triple-engine’ govt and approve of our development work,” he said.
State local bodies minister Vipul Goel presented the results in assembly, saying BJP also claimed 90% of the councillor seats.
Former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda suffered a setback in his stronghold of Rohtak, where BJP retained the mayoral seat despite Congress holding both LS and assembly seats in the region. Congress MLA Vinesh Phogat also failed to secure a win in Julana, where BJP candidates won the municipal committee polls.
Hooda downplayed the defeat, attributing it to a focus on “local issues and bhaichara (brotherhood)” rather than party politics. “If you check the final tally, you may find more Congress councillors this time,” he said.
Congress functionary Capt Ajay Yadav pointed to a weak grassroots structure as a key factor in the party’s poor performance.
Three members of a Yadav family — Deepak, his wife Rashmi, and his brother Pawan —won as independent candidates in Faridabad’s municipal councillor elections.
BJP lost in Kaithal district, where independents defeated the party nominees in Siwan, Kalayat and Pundri municipal committees.
Result shows people’s faith in BJP: Modi
BJP’s sweep of urban body polls in Haryana on Wednesday had BJP in a joyous mood, with PM Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah leading the celebrations. This victory is an expression of unwavering faith of the people in the development work being carried out by the Saini govt, Modi said, adding, “I assure the people of the state that we will leave no stone unturned to fulfil their hopes and aspirations.”
Shah congratulated CM Saini and state party chief Mohan Lal Badauli for the victory. “Haryana has faith only in Modi ji. After the landslide victory in the Haryana polls, I am very grateful to the people of Haryana for giving their blessings to BJP in the civic poll as well,” he said. Under the leadership of Modi ji, BJP has become the first choice of people from the ward to the Vidhan Sabha, and from the panchayat to Parliament,” he said on X.
