BJP suspends 58 local leaders for anti-party activities
BJP district president, Kamal Yadav, issued the order late on Monday evening, confirming the suspension of 44 leaders from Gurugram, 13 from Manesar and one from Pataudi
Gurugram: With barely four days left for the municipal elections in Haryana, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has taken action against 58 local leaders for anti-party activities. These leaders, who were contesting the Gurugram and Manesar civic body polls as independents, were expelled from the party for six years, officials said.
BJP candidate for Ward 15 Bharti Harsana alleged that she was denied entry into South City 2 and prevented from campaigning by rival independent candidates. (HT PHOTO)
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BJP district president, Kamal Yadav, issued the order late on Monday evening, confirming the suspension of 44 leaders from Gurugram, 13 from Manesar and one from Pataudi. The expelled members, despite not getting BJP tickets, were actively seeking votes and using their past association with the party and talking about their proximity to senior BJP leaders as part of their campaign.
Confusion among voters
BJP functionaries revealed that these rebel candidates were misleading voters by claiming party support. Their campaign posters and banners featured BJP symbols and images of senior leaders, including state minister Rao Narbir Singh and Gurugram MP Rao Inderjit Singh. Though both leaders have refrained from endorsing any independent candidate, many of the suspended leaders continued to use their pictures to gain electoral advantage.
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The issue became particularly contentious in Ward 15, where BJP candidate Bharti Harsana alleged that she was denied entry into South City 2 and prevented from campaigning by rival independent candidates. She also accused local BJP-affiliated RWA members of working against her and favouring independents.
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The issue became particularly contentious in Ward 15, where BJP candidate Bharti Harsana alleged that she was denied entry into South City 2 and prevented from campaigning by rival independent candidates. She also accused local BJP-affiliated RWA members of working against her and favouring independents.
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The suspended leaders include prominent figures such as former Gurugram mayor Vimal Yadav, his wife and ex-councillor Rimple Yadav, former deputy mayor Parminder Katariya, and district secretary Avnish Raghav Khandsa.
BJP’s collective decision-making committee had finalised the official candidates for the municipal polls. However, instead of backing the party’s chosen representatives, these rebel leaders filed independent nominations and continued to mislead voters.
“These candidates are indulging in anti-party activities and misleading people about party support. They are trying to stake claim and misuse BJP’s loyal vote bank. Their suspension was necessary to ensure clarity for voters,” said Kamal Yadav, BJP’s Gurugram district president.
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Call for permanent suspension
Though the suspended leaders have been claiming that they will rejoin the BJP post-elections, Harsana has urged the party to take permanent action against them. “These rebels are now telling voters that BJP has assured them reinstatement within 15 days. Their suspension should be final to safeguard the party’s credibility,” she asserted.
As part of its campaign, the BJP recently released its election manifesto, promising a 25% rebate on residential tax for women homeowners, installation of ‘pink toilets’ with sanitary napkin vending machines, establishment of model parks for differently-abled citizens and free solar panels for families earning below ₹1 lakh annually.
The municipal elections in Haryana, covering 33 civic bodies, including eight corporations, four councils, and 21 committees, is scheduled to be held on March 2.
Leena Dhankhar is Senior Editor and Bureau Chief, Gurugram, at Hindustan Times, where she has spent over 17 years chronicling the transformation of one of India's fastest-growing urban regions. From starting her career as a crime reporter to leading the Gurugram bureau, her journalism has been defined by investigative reporting, in-depth storytelling and an unwavering focus on public interest.
Over nearly two decades, she has reported extensively across crime, politics, civic governance, elections, real estate, environment, courts, sports, education and entertainment, covering Gurugram, Faridabad, Nuh and Palwal. Her reporting has exposed several major scams and systemic failures, including insurance frauds, waste management irregularities, illegal arms manufacturing units in Nuh, illegal mining in the Aravallis, organised crime networks and governance lapses affecting millions of residents.
Known for her investigative work and exclusive stories, Leena has reported on high-impact national issues, including the Nicaragua charter flight carrying Indian migrants that was turned back amid allegations of human trafficking, exposing the growing network of illegal immigration rackets. Her work has also focused on gang wars, prison administration, juvenile crime, women and child protection systems, the functioning of the Juvenile Justice Board and Child Welfare Committee, and environmental challenges such as pollution, waterlogging and deteriorating civic infrastructure.
Beyond hard news, Leena has extensively documented Haryana's rich heritage, forests and wildlife, bringing attention to the state's historical landmarks, biodiversity, conservation efforts and ecological challenges through immersive reportage and feature writing.
Her journalism has consistently gone beyond breaking news. She has documented Gurugram's rapid urbanisation through long-form narratives and enterprise reporting on issues ranging from pothole-ridden roads, flooding and waste management to the changing social fabric of India's Millennium City. She also writes widely read feature columns, including The Outsider, Changemaker, and Concern for Gurugram, profiling people, places and ideas shaping the city's identity.
Leena is the author of Gurugram School Murder, published by Juggernaut Books, a deeply reported account of one of India's most high-profile school murder investigations. She is currently working on her second book, an investigative work exploring some of India's most significant scams and fraud investigations.
Beyond print journalism, she has expanded her storytelling through public speaking and digital media. She is a TEDx speaker and has produced podcasts exploring Gurugram's transformation, civic challenges and untold stories. Her work reflects a commitment to narrative journalism that combines rigorous reporting with compelling storytelling.
A law graduate with an MBA in Human Resources, Leena brings a multidisciplinary perspective to her reporting, particularly on governance, public policy and legal affairs. She has travelled extensively across India to pursue investigative assignments, often reporting from remote locations and conflict-prone areas in search of stories that matter.
