The 2024 Haryana Assembly elections had underlined how close the contest was, with the incumbent BJP edging past the principal Opposition Congress by just 0.85 percentage points in vote share and securing 48 seats against the latter’s 37 in the 90-member House. The recent municipal polls seem to have reinforced the BJP’s grip on the state’s urban electorate.The results of the urban local body elections, declared on May 13, saw the BJP winning not only the three municipal corporations – in Panchkula, Ambala, and Sonipat – but also three smaller municipalities, leaving only Uklana where the Congress and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD)-backed independent Reema Soni defeated the BJP’s candidate for the post of the civic body’s president.AdvertisementThe margins in the mayoral contests were striking, ranging from 21,000 to 36,000 votes, and the BJP’s dominance extended to the ward level as well, winning 17 seats in Panchkula, 16 in Ambala, and 17 in Sonipat, where the Congress was reduced to 1, 3, and 5, respectively. The INLD, led by Abhay Singh Chautala, and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) fielded candidates but failed to secure any wins.The sweep in urban areas positions the BJP favourably for consolidating its rural support. “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, a symbolic and strategic achievement that reflects its strong organisational machinery. The pary’s wins in areas like Sampla, considered a bastion of state Congress stalwart and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Assembly, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, added to the narrative.AdvertisementHooda responded by pointing out that the 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 insist that in local body polls voters often support candidates from the ruling party in the hopes of securing development works for their areas. “It isn’t unusual – it’s a common practice in both panchayat and municipal polls,” a Congress leader said.The Congress’s Haryana in-charge B K Hariprasad accused the BJP of misusing government machinery to secure victories in the civic body polls. “We had already complained to the State Election Commission about discrepancies in the voters’ list. They may have the government, but we will continue to fight them,” he said.Still, for the Congress, the setback raises urgent questions about strategy, grassroots organisation, and need for unity among senior leaders, especially as its performance was worse than in December 2020. That year, while the Congress won the Sonipat mayoral seat, the BJP, contesting with ally Dushyant Chautala-led Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), narrowly prevailed in Panchkula. Ambala had gone to the Haryana Jan Chetna Party, Rewari to the BJP, Sampla to an Independent backed by Hooda, while the JJP suffered setbacks in Uklana and Dharuhera.In March 2025, the BJP had already consolidated its dominance by winning 9 of 10 mayoral contests, with only Manesar going to an Independent.you may likeCM 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 one-sided support from the people in the municipal elections of Panchkula, Ambala, and Sonipat.”Saini added that public trust in the BJP’s development-oriented policies continues to grow steadily across elections to municipal corporations, councils, and committees.The BJP’s victory in these civic bodies of Haryana come close on the heels of the party’s big wins in the West Bengal and Assam Assembly polls, and the party hopes these victories will boost its prospects ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections due in early 2027.