Haryana: BJP-JJP combine wins 25 municipal bodies
Chandigarh: The ruling BJP-Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) combine in Haryana performed well in the municipal polls, winning 25 president's posts out of 46.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), in its maiden foray in the municipal polls, saw its first victory by winning the president's post in the Ismailabad municipal committee in Kurukshetra district. Nineteen Independents also got elected. One seat, Dabwali, went to the Indian National Lok Dal.
The main Opposition Congress did not contest the elections on party symbol.
The polls were held on Sunday for the 18 municipal councils and 28 municipal committees in the state.
Of the 28 municipal committees, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 12, the JJP two, the AAP one while Independents have won 13.
BJP won president election in 10 out of 18 municipal councils. These councils are- Gohana, Jind, Jhajjar, Bahadurgarh, Charkhi Dadri, Kalka, Sohna, Kaithal, Palwal and Fatehabad.
The JJP and INLD won one each while 6 municipal councils went to independents.
In Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar's home turf, the BJP faced humiliation by winning only one of the four municipal committee president posts in Karnal district. It lost three seats to Independent candidates.
The BJP-JJP alliance fielded candidates for Assandh, Gharuanda and Taraori municipal committees, while the fourth Nissing committee was contested by a BJP rebel who contested as an Independent.
BJP's Happy Gupta won the Gharaunda municipal committee president's post by a slender margin of 31 votes over AAP's Surinder Singla. Gupta polled 5,108 votes.
Election Commissioner Dhanpat Singh said there were 456 wards in 18 municipal councils, including 54 reserved for the Scheduled Castes and 123 women.
Similarly, out of a total of 432 wards in the municipality, 53 reserved for the Scheduled Castes and 116 for women.
He expressed gratitude to all political parties, candidates, the public and the administration for participating in the elections.
Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar congratulates all BJP candidates who won the elections. "Many congratulations to all the candidates of Bharatiya Janata Party who won the local body elections. This victory of yours is a victory of the trust of the people which it is showing continuously towards BJP since 2014 and 2019. This victory is dedicated to the hardworking workers of the party," he wrote on Twitter.
Later, talking to reporters, Khattar said he does not feel that the protests against the Centre's "Agnipath" scheme for military recruitment had any impact on the outcome of the municipal polls.
On the Congress not contesting the polls, Khattar said the opposition party ran away from the electoral battle knowing that people will reject them.
