Lagatar24 Desk
Chandigarh: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) registered a landslide victory in the Haryana local body elections, winning 9 out of 10 mayoral seats, including Gurugram and Rohtak, the stronghold of senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda. The only non-BJP winner was Dr. Inderjit Yadav, a rebel BJP leader, who won as an independent from Manesar.
‘People Have Given Their Approval’: BJP Celebrates Victory
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini celebrated the BJP’s landslide win, stating:
“The people have put their stamp of approval on a ‘triple-engine’ government. I thank them from the bottom of my heart.”
Haryana Education Minister Mahipal Dhanda also hailed the result, calling it a “full public mandate for greater development in the state.”
BJP Crushes Congress in Gurugram
The Gurugram mayoral contest marked the first direct battle between the BJP and Congress, with both parties fielding candidates under their official symbols.
The BJP fielded Raj Rani, who defeated Congress’ Seema Pahuja by over one lakh votes, securing a massive victoryfor the party.
The Congress had deployed big guns, including Sachin Pilot and Bhupinder Hooda, but their efforts failed to counter the BJP’s dominance.
Congress Loses Stronghold Rohtak
The battle for Rohtak was expected to be tightly contested, but the BJP’s Ram Avtar emerged as the clear winner, securing over one lakh votes and defeating Congress’ Surajmal Kiloi by more than 45,000 votes.
Given Rohtak is Bhupinder Hooda’s bastion, this defeat is seen as a major setback for the Congress.
BJP’s Dominance Across Key Cities
• Ambala: BJP’s Shailja Sachdeva defeated Congress’ Amisha Chawla by 20,487 votes.
• Faridabad: BJP’s Parveen Joshi triumphed over Congress’ Lata Rani.
• Hisar: BJP’s Praveen Popli beat Congress’ Krishan Singla.
• Karnal: BJP’s Renu Bala Gupta secured victory against Congress’ Manoj Wadhwa.
• Panipat: BJP’s Komal Saini defeated Congress’ Savita Garg.
• Sonipat: BJP’s Rajiv Jain won against Congress’ Komal Dewan.
• Yamunanagar: BJP’s Suman defeated Congress’ Kirna Devi.
Low Voter Turnout Raises Concerns
The Haryana local body polls witnessed a disappointing voter turnout of only 41%, significantly lower than the 68% recorded during the Assembly elections.
Additionally, 26 ward members were elected unopposed, including:
• Kuldeep Singh (Faridabad)
• Vikas Yadav (Gurugram)
• Sankalp Bhandari and Sanjeev Kumar Mehta (Karnal)
• Bhavna (Yamunanagar)
