BJP sweeps Haryana civic polls; wins 9 of the 10 MCs
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) registered a decisive victory in the Haryana mayoral elections on Wednesday, winning nine out of the ten municipal corporations in the state. The counting of votes began at 8 am, following the elections held on March 2 and March 9 (in Panipat).
Key victories in mayoral contests
In Ambala, BJP candidate Shailja Sachdeva secured the mayoral seat by defeating Congress’s Amisha Chawla with a margin of 20,487 votes. The bypoll was necessitated after former mayor Shakti Rani Sharma was elected as a BJP MLA from Kalka.
In Karnal, Union minister and former chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s close aide, Renu Bala Gupta, won for the third consecutive time. She defeated Congress’s Manoj Kumar Wadhwa by 25,359 votes.
Panipat, which falls under Khattar’s parliamentary constituency, saw BJP’s Komal Saini securing a landslide victory with a margin of 1.23 lakh votes over Congress candidate Savita Garg. Meanwhile, in Yamunanagar, BJP’s Suman triumphed over Congress’s Kirana Devi by 73,319 votes.
Record-breaking win in Faridabad
In Faridabad, BJP’s Parveen Joshi achieved a record-setting victory, defeating Congress’s Lata Rani by 3.16 lakh votes. Joshi polled 4.16 lakh votes, while Rani secured only 1 lakh votes. This margin is claimed to be the highest-ever for a mayoral election in India, surpassing the previous record of 2.87 lakh votes set by BJP’s Sunita Dayal in Ghaziabad.
In Gurugram, BJP candidate Raj Rani emerged victorious, defeating Congress’s Seema Pahuja by 1.79 lakh votes.
Manesar’s first mayor
In Manesar, which was electing a mayor for the first time, BJP rebel and independent candidate Inderjit Yadav surprised many by defeating BJP’s official nominee, Sunder Lal Sarpanch, by 2,293 votes. The Congress candidate finished in fourth place.
Narrowest victory: One vote margin
In Ambala’s Barara, an independent ward member, Vijay Singh, secured victory by a single vote against fellow independent candidate Manisha in Ward 11.
Election in Ismailabad
For the post of Ismailabad municipal committee president, BJP’s Megha Bansal won by 311 votes. The seat had been vacant since April 12, 2024, after Kenyan citizen Nisha Kano Vangha, who was elected in 2022, was disqualified by the State Election Commissioner Dhanpat Singh.
26 candidates elected unopposed
A total of 26 ward members were elected unopposed. Among them were Kuldeep Singh (Faridabad), Vikas Yadav (Gurugram), Sankalp Bhandari and Sanjeev Kumar Mehta (Karnal), and Bhavna (Yamunanagar). Three candidates were elected unopposed in Ambala Sadar and Thanesar, while 18 others won unopposed across various municipal committees in the state.
Voter turnout and political landscape
The overall voter turnout across both election days (March 2 and 9) stood at a low 41%, significantly lower than the 68% turnout recorded in the state assembly elections last October.
In Rohtak, BJP’s candidates won 14 of the 22 wards, while independents secured six and Congress was reduced to just two seats. The civic body election results further cemented BJP’s dominance in the state.
In Hisar, BJP’s Praveen Popli defeated Congress’s Krishan Singla by 64,523 votes, polling 96,396 votes against Singla’s 31,873.
For the Sonepat mayoral bypoll, BJP’s Rajiv Jain won against Congress’s Kamal Diwan by 34,766 votes. The bypoll was necessitated after sitting Congress mayor Nikhil Madan defected to BJP and won the assembly election from Sonepat on a BJP ticket. Jain’s nomination was seen as a political move after his wife, former minister Kavita Jain, was denied a BJP ticket for the assembly polls last year.
BJP sweeps municipal councils
The BJP also claimed all five municipal council seats in Pataudi, Thanesar, Ambala Cantonment, Sirsa, and Sohna (by-poll). Among the 23 municipal committees, BJP won eight, while independent candidates secured victories in 15.
In Sirsa, BJP’s chairperson candidate Shanti Swaroop won by 12,779 votes, polling 41,061 votes against opponent Jaswinder Kaur’s 28,682.
Chief minister hails BJP’s victory
Reacting to the results in the Vidhan Sabha, Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini stated that the outcome reaffirmed the people’s trust in BJP’s governance, development policies, and transparency.
“With this overwhelming mandate, people have provided the third engine for the state’s urban development,” he said, referring to BJP’s governance at the central, state, and now municipal levels.
Saini also expressed confidence that the newly elected urban leadership would work towards the vision of a developed India. He thanked the people of Haryana, the state election commission, and officials involved in ensuring peaceful elections.
