Chandigarh- The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured a decisive victory in Haryana’s mayoral elections, winning nine out of ten mayoral positions, including key seats in Gurugram and Rohtak — the latter considered a stronghold of senior Congress leader Bhupinder Hooda. The Congress suffered its second consecutive electoral defeat in the state.
The only exception to the BJP’s sweep was Manesar, where independent candidate Dr. Inderjit Yadav, a former BJP member, emerged victorious.
Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini hailed the outcome as an endorsement of the BJP’s governance. “The people have put their stamp of approval on a ‘triple-engine’ government. I thank the people from the bottom of my heart,” Saini declared, referring to the BJP-led governments at the Centre, state, and local levels. “Our local body government and this ‘triple-engine’ government will play a crucial role in fulfilling Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘viksit Bharat’ (developed India),” he added.
Education Minister Mahipal Dhanda echoed these sentiments, promising accelerated development for the state with what he termed a “full public mandate.”
For the Congress, the loss is particularly stinging. The party had only previously contested local body elections under its own symbol once before. This time, it fielded candidates in several constituencies, including Gurugram, where it faced the BJP in a direct contest.
Despite the efforts of prominent leaders like Sachin Pilot and Bhupinder Hooda, the Congress faced a landslide defeat. In Gurugram, the BJP’s Raj Rani defeated the Congress’ Seema Pahuja by over one lakh votes. In Rohtak, BJP’s Ram Avtar secured more than one lakh votes, leaving the Congress’ Surajmal Kiloi trailing by over 45,000 ballots.
Other notable victories for the BJP included Shailja Sachdeva in Ambala, Parveen Joshi in Faridabad, Praveen Popli in Hisar, Renu Bala Gupta in Karnal, Komal Saini in Panipat, Rajiv Jain in Sonipat, and Suman in Yamunanagar.
Voting took place on March 2 in Faridabad, Hisar, Rohtak, Karnal, Yamunanagar, Gurugram, and Manesar, with by-polls in Ambala and Sonipat held simultaneously. Panipat voted on March 9. In total, 21 municipal committees participated in the elections.
Voter turnout, however, was notably low at just 41 per cent, marking a record low compared to the 68 per cent turnout during the last Assembly election. Additionally, 26 ward members, including Kuldeep Singh (Faridabad), Vikas Yadav (Gurugram), Sankalp Bhandari and Sanjeev Kumar Mehta (Karnal), and Bhavna (Yamunanagar), were elected unopposed.
The BJP’s sweeping victory solidifies its political grip in Haryana, leaving the Congress grappling with yet another electoral setback.
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