BJP sweeps Haryana municipal corporation polls, tastes victory in Hooda bastion

The saffron party clinched the president's post in the municipal committee of Sampla, a stronghold of former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

The BJP on Wednesday swept the municipal corporation polls, registering emphatic wins in Panchkula, Ambala and Sonipat, with Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini describing the outcome as a reflection of people's trust in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership.

Saini alleged that the incident was an attempt to intimidate political workers during election season. (HT File) (HT_PRINT)

Barring Uklana, where a 23-year-old student won the municipal committee's president post as an Independent candidate, the BJP swept other civic body polls.

The saffron party clinched the president's post in the municipal committee of Sampla, a stronghold of former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Notably, the Congress had not fielded its candidate in Sampla for the civic polls. INLD and AAP, which contested in some wards, however, drew a blank.

In the municipal polls, the BJP sought votes on the development plank while Congress focused on targeting the BJP on the issues of sanitation, drainage and corruption.

The win sparked celebrations in the BJP camp, with party workers and leaders distributing sweets.

Saini hailed the BJP's stupendous show in the civic polls, which came close on the heels of the party's big wins in West Bengal and Assam.

He also said people have once again put their stamp of approval and reposed their trust in the policies and programmes of the government under Modi's leadership.

Saini hit out at the Congress, saying people have once again rejected them.

"The public no longer trusts Congress and other opposition parties, as they engage solely in the politics of falsehoods," Saini said.

"Congress always takes support of lies, people have understood this," he said, adding the grand old party's "real face has been unmasked".

On the BJP's win in the Hooda bastion, Sampla, Saini said, "People don't trust Hooda anymore. He speaks lies. Our government is working with honesty and transparency, fulfilling the promises made to people."

As per the results, for the mayor's post in Panchkula, BJP's Shyamlal Bansal (71) defeated Congress candidate and former president of the state Mahila Congress, Sudha Bhardwaj, by a margin of 36,252 votes.

For the mayor's post in Sonipat, BJP's Rajiv Jain (61) trounced his Congress rival, Kamal Dewan, by 23,247 votes.

In Ambala, BJP's Akshita Saini (32) defeated her Congress rival, Kulwinder Kaur, by a margin of 21,358 votes.

At present, the sitting mayors in three municipal corporations of Panchkula, Ambala and Sonipat are from the BJP.

In the Sampla municipal committee, BJP's Praveen defeated Independent candidate Ankit by 687 votes.

In Dharuhera, BJP's Satyanarayan, alias Ajay Jangra, won against Babu Lal, an Independent candidate, by 6,236 votes.

However, in Uklana, Independent candidate Rima Soni (23) sprang a surprise by defeating the BJP's Nikita Goyal by 2,806 votes.

Asked about state BJP leaders campaigning for Nikita, Soni said, "I had the support of people of Uklana. I thank them for making me victorious".

"I come from an ordinary family, and I want to express my gratitude to all those who supported me," said Soni, who contested as an Independent with backing by Congress, which did not field their candidate.

Before contesting, Soni, a graduate, was preparing for competitive exams.

Meanwhile, in the Rewari municipal council, Vinita Pippal of the BJP defeated Congress's Neharika by 21,445 votes.

In the Ambala Municipal Corporation, the BJP won 16 wards, three went to Congress, while an Independent won in one ward.

In the Sonipat Municipal Corporation, the BJP secured 17 wards while Congress registered wins in five wards.

In a few municipal wards, Congress candidates were even behind the Independents.

In the Panchkula Municipal Corporation, the BJP won 17 wards, Independents won two, while Congress won only one ward.

After winning the Panchkula mayor's post, BJP's Shyamlal Bansal said he will try to live up to the public's expectations.

For the Congress, which has been out of power in Haryana for the past twelve years, the loss is a major blow to the party's existence.

During last year's mayoral polls, the Congress failed to make an impact, as the BJP bagged nine of the ten seats.

Haryana BJP chief Mohan Lal Badoli thanked the voters for reposing their trust in the party. He also said the BJP's victory in Sampla, a stronghold of Hooda, is indicative of the public mood and outright rejection of the Congress.

In Sonipat, BJP's victorious mayoral candidate and former Haryana minister Kavita Jain attributed the victory to "BJP's politics of development".