The Bharatiya Janata Party now governs all 11 municipal corporations in Haryana, a symbolic as well as strategic milestone that highlights its robust organisational network.
The 2024 Haryana Assembly elections had demonstrated how closely fought the contest was, with the ruling BJP narrowly surpassing the principal Opposition Indian National Congress by just 0.85 percentage points in vote share and winning 48 seats compared to the latter’s 37 in the 90-member Assembly. The latest municipal elections appear to have further strengthened the BJP’s hold over Haryana’s urban electorate.
The results of the urban local body polls, announced on May 13, saw the BJP securing victories in all three municipal corporations — in Panchkula, Ambala, and Sonipat — along with three smaller municipalities, leaving only Uklana where Congress and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD)-backed Independent candidate Reema Soni defeated the BJP nominee for the civic body president’s post.
The victory margins in the mayoral races were notable, ranging between 21,000 and 36,000 votes, while the BJP’s dominance extended to ward contests as well, winning 17 seats in Panchkula, 16 in Ambala, and 17 in Sonipat, where Congress was reduced to 1, 3, and 5 seats respectively. The INLD, led by Abhay Singh Chautala, and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) fielded candidates but failed to register any victories.
The sweep across urban regions places the BJP in a stronger position to consolidate support in rural areas. “With development as their priority, the people of the state have chosen to establish a ‘triple-engine government’ in the urban local bodies,” said Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini.
The BJP now controls all 11 municipal corporations in Haryana, marking both a symbolic and strategic accomplishment that reflects the party’s powerful organisational machinery. The party’s success in places such as Sampla, regarded as a stronghold of Congress veteran and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda, further strengthened this narrative.
Hooda responded by noting that Congress had not fielded a candidate there, saying, “As a matter of policy, the Congress does not contest elections for municipal committees and Zila Parishads in Haryana.”
Congress leaders argued that voters in local body polls often prefer candidates associated with the ruling party in hopes of accelerating development works in their localities. “It isn’t unusual — it’s a common trend in both panchayat and municipal elections,” a Congress leader remarked.
The Congress’s Haryana in-charge B K Hariprasad accused the BJP of misusing state machinery to secure wins in the civic elections. “We had already approached the State Election Commission regarding discrepancies in the voter lists. They may control the government, but we will continue our fight,” he stated.
Even so, for Congress, the setback raises pressing questions about electoral strategy, grassroots mobilisation, and the need for unity among senior leaders, especially as its performance was weaker than in December 2020. That year, while Congress captured the Sonipat mayoral seat, the BJP, contesting alongside ally Dushyant Chautala-led Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), narrowly won in Panchkula. Ambala had gone to the Haryana Jan Chetna Party, Rewari to the BJP, Sampla to a Hooda-backed Independent, while the JJP faced setbacks in Uklana and Dharuhera.
In March 2025, the BJP had already reinforced its dominance by winning 9 out of 10 mayoral contests, with only Manesar electing an Independent candidate.
Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini said: “After securing decisive victories in the municipal corporation elections in Hisar, Gurgaon, Yamunanagar, and Faridabad in March 2025, the BJP has now also received overwhelming support from the people in the municipal elections of Panchkula, Ambala, and Sonipat.”
Saini further added that public confidence in the BJP’s development-focused policies continues to increase steadily across elections to municipal corporations, councils, and committees.
The BJP’s victories in Haryana’s civic bodies come soon after the party’s major successes in the West Bengal and Assam Assembly elections, and the party expects these wins to strengthen its prospects ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections scheduled for early 2027.
