The outcome of the Urban Local Bodies election in Haryana came as no surprise following the formation of the BJP government barely six months ago. The Congress, which once dominated municipal corporations in Rohtak, Sonepat, and Sirsa in the past, has struggled to maintain its influence.

Congress did not win a single Mayor seat, for which results were announced on Wednesday, and even lost its sitting Sonipat seat besides facing a setback in Rohtak, considered a bastion of Haryana strongman former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who practically leads the party in the state.

This has exposed Congress’ organisational weakness at the grassroots level and its failure to regroup after the Assembly election defeat six months ago.

This election also dealt a severe blow to the INLD and JJP, both of which failed to secure even 8% of the vote share, leading to their candidates losing their security deposits. Congress, struggling with internal divisions, managed a distant second place.

BJP won nine Mayoral contests while an independent considered close to a union minister won the remaining seat, in what is seen as the saffron party once again capitalising on the factionalism in Congress.

Talking to Reporters, Senior Congress leader Hooda downplayed the results while talking to media in Chandigarh, “BJP won before also. What is new in this? We never said that we contested these elections seriously. Even when I was the Chief Minister, I never campaigned in the Panchayat elections. These are elections of ‘bhaichara’ (brotherhood).”

Political observer opines that the BJP’s success this time was driven by strong organisational planning and an aggressive campaign led by Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, who conducted a high-energy roadshow before the elections. With this resounding win, BJP has further solidified its position, marking a new era in the state’s political landscape. The Congress leadership, on the other hand, appeared to have surrendered without even putting up a fight, which shows a poor reflection of its style of functioning and lack of unity in the state unit. The Congress’ defeat was inevitable due to fragmented leadership and a lack of grassroots organisation.

He said that the significant margin of victory suggests that voters opted for the ruling party in the municipal polls. The Congress failed to capitalise on local and state-level issues, despite urban local bodies being a major factor in people’s resentment against BJP until the Lok Sabha election last year.

The defeat in Rohtak, a stronghold of Bhupinder Hooda, has been a significant setback for the Congress. Similarly, former Union Minister and Sirsa MP Kumari Selja failed to secure the Congress victory in Sirsa.

The Congress’ infighting ultimately hindered its chances of making a strong comeback, despite winning five Lok Sabha seats in 2024. BJP, however, worked hard to capitalise on this opportunity.

Another Political observer said that Congress’ crushing defeat raises concerns about the party’s fate in Haryana. The party faces a deep leadership and organisational crisis, requiring drastic decisions to revive its presence in the state. The party is in disarray in the state and the central leadership is yet to finalise the leader of the legislature party since October last year after the results were out, owing to competing claims by various camps.