BJP sweeps Haryana civic polls; wins 9 of the 10 municipal corporations
Chandigarh, Mar 12 (PTI): Less than six months after scoring a hat-trick of wins in Haryana Assembly elections, the ruling BJP swept the civic polls in the state on Wednesday, bagging nine of the ten mayoral seats.
In the outgoing municipal corporations, BJP had its mayors in seven civic bodies.
The Congress, which was looking to turn around its electoral fortunes after suffering a defeat in the 2024 Assembly polls, failed to open its account. The opposition party lost in Sonipat, where it had its mayor, and Rohtak, considered a stronghold of its stalwart and former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
Seven of the ten candidates who won the mayor's post are women, six of them from the ruling BJP.
Celebrations erupted in the BJP camp after the results, with party leaders in Chandigarh and other districts distributing sweets. There were early Holi festivities as jubilant BJP members applied 'gulal' (colour) to each other.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the victory is an expression of people's unwavering faith in the development works of the state government headed by Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini.
"I want to assure people of the state that we will spare no effort in fulfilling their expectations and aspirations," he said on X.
The hard work of the party's dedicated workers played a big role in this grand victory, he said, praising their efforts.
Chief Minister Saini said people have put their stamp of approval on the works and policies of the BJP government and formed a "triple-engine government" that will work at a fast pace to realise the resolve of "developed Haryana-developed India".
Independent candidate Inderjeet Yadav was the only non-BJP nominee to win a mayoral seat. She was elected from Manesar, where municipal elections were held for the first time.
The six women BJP candidates who won the mayoral posts are from Gurugram, Faridabad, Karnal, Panipat, Ambala and Yamunanagar.
Polls to elect mayors and ward members in seven municipal corporations -- Gurugram, Manesar, Faridabad, Hisar, Rohtak, Karnal and Yamunanagar -- were held on March 2.
The bypolls for the mayoral posts in Ambala and Sonipat and the elections for presidents and ward members in 21 municipal committees and four municipal councils were also held that day.
For the Panipat Municipal Corporation, polling was held on March 9 to elect the mayor and 26 councillors.
According to a statement by the state BJP, the party also captured several seats in four municipal councils and 21 municipal committees for which polls were held including Sirsa and Julana.
For the mayoral posts, BJP candidates registered emphatic wins in Ambala, Faridabad, Gurugram, Hisar, Karnal, Rohtak, Sonipat, Yamunanagar and Panipat defeating their nearest Congress rivals.
In Manesar, Independent candidate Inderjeet Yadav defeated her nearest BJP rival Sunder Lal by a margin of 2,293 votes to become the corporation's first-ever mayor.
Yadav thanked the people of Manesar for her victory and said she will take up several burning issues pertaining to her area on priority once she assumes office.
The mayoral candidates who registered victories with big margins included the BJP's Faridabad nominee Parveen Joshi who won by 3,16,852 votes and Raj Rani from Gurugram who won by over 1.79 lakh votes.
Nikhil Madaan was the outgoing Sonipat mayor and a Congress leader earlier.
Ahead of the 2024 Assembly polls, he joined the BJP and won the Sonipat Assembly seat. Senior BJP leader Rajiv Jain won from Sonipat this time.
In Ambala municipal corporation, Shakti Rani Sharma was the mayor as a Haryana Janchetna Party leader. She too joined the BJP ahead of the assembly polls and won the Kalka Assembly seat. The other municipal corporations where polling was held had BJP mayors.
Other notable winners include BJP's Renu Bala Gupta from Karnal and Komal Saini, who won from Panipat by over 1.23 lakh votes.
In Rohtak, a pocket borough of Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda, BJP's Ram Avtar defeated Congress' Surajmal Kiloi by a margin of 45,198 votes.
From Yamunanagar, Suman of BJP defeated Congress' Kirna Devi by a margin of 73,319 votes to become the mayor, while from Ambala, BJP's Shailja Sachdeva won by a margin of 20,487 votes over her Congress rival.
Haryana Minister Vipul Goel, while speaking during the ongoing budget session of the State Assembly here, said, "Our mayoral candidates have registered wins with a big majority in nine municipal corporations." Goel also said the Faridabad Mayor candidate has won by the highest vote margin.
"More than 90 per cent of our councillors have also won in the polls," he said.
The results have dealt another blow to the Congress after workers and leaders in districts switched over to the BJP ahead of the elections.
The party state unit has been, in the past, plagued with infighting and factionalism unlike the BJP, which has a well-organised and strong organisational structure at the grassroots level.
Chief Minister Saini said people have put their stamp of approval on the works and policies of the BJP government.
The "triple engine government", a reference to the saffron party being in power at the Centre, in the state as well as in the civic bodies, will undertake development at three times the pace to realise the resolve of a "Viksit Haryana-Viksit Bharat", he told reporters on the sidelines of the ongoing State Assembly session.
In a statement in the Assembly, Saini expressed heartfelt gratitude to the people of Haryana. He also thanked the State Election Commission for conducting smooth and peaceful elections.
The chief minister said for non-stop development, the people of the state have given a "third engine to the urban bodies".
"The results prove that the people of Haryana want development and they have given their vote for good governance," Saini said.
With the resolve of "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas and the mantra of Haryana Ek-Haryanvi Ek, we are committed to taking the state to new heights", Saini said.
Meanwhile, from Karnal, Renu Bala Gupta, who secured her third straight win, credited the people of Karnal and the party leadership for the victory.
Parveen Joshi, who won as mayor in Faridabad, said she is overwhelmed by the love and support she has received from the people of Faridabad.
Union Minister and Faridabad MP Krishan Pal Gurjar said that "a new history has been scripted" with the BJP's victory in the civic polls.
He also said the Congress has not been able to open its account in ten municipal corporations.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
