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BJP wins Hooda bastion, set to sweep Haryana MC elections
Ruling party clinches symbolic victory in Sampla while maintaining steady margins in major municipal corporations.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday secured a notable win in the Sampla municipal committee, a region traditionally considered a stronghold of former chief minister and Congress veteran Bhupinder Singh Hooda, while counting was underway for the three municipal corporations and several councils in the state.
According to the state election commission, BJP candidate Praveen claimed the chairman’s post by 687 votes, defeating Independent candidate Ankit. Though the Congress opted not to field an official candidate, the result serves as a direct setback to Hooda’s local influence, particularly after he urged voters to consolidate behind any candidate capable of defeating the BJP.
This victory, bolstered by high-profile campaigning from chief minister Nayab Singh Saini and other senior BJP leaders, has provided a morale boost to the ruling party amid the broader landscape of the state’s local body elections.
In the battle for the state’s major municipal corporations, the BJP has registered a consistent lead across Sonepat, Ambala, and Panchkula.
In Sonepat, BJP mayoral candidate Rajiv Jain established a substantial lead of over 9,700 votes against Congress nominee Kamal Dewan, while INLD’s Ishwar Singh trailed in third place.
A similar trend was observed in Ambala, where BJP’s Akshita Saini maintained a comfortable lead over Congress’ Kulwinder Kaur.
In Panchkula, BJP’s Shyam Lal Bansal led the mayoral race against Sudha Bhardwaj of the Congress and Rajesh Kumar of the AAP, signalling a potential sweep of the three major urban bodies by the ruling party.
While the BJP reported early advantages in the Rewari Municipal Council and the Dharuhera Municipal Committee, the trend was not uniform across the state.
In the Uklana Municipal Committee, the party faced a setback as Independent candidate Rima Soni defeated BJP’s Nikita Goel by a decisive margin of 2,806 votes.
The elections, which saw an overall voter turnout of 54.5% on May 10, were conducted under tight security.
The state election commission deployed CCTV surveillance and strict entry controls at all centres, as officials worked to finalise results for several municipal bodies and crucial bypolls in districts like Tohana and Jhajjar.
