The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has achieved a resounding victory in the Panchkula Municipal Corporation elections, retaining the mayor's post and significantly increasing its seat count in the wards. Riding on an aggressive campaign led by Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, the BJP's mayoral candidate Sham Lal Bansal (71) defeated Congress candidate Sudha Bhardwaj (65) by a massive margin of 36,252 votes.
Election Results and Vote Share
Bansal secured 68,544 votes (61.89% of the total), while Bhardwaj received 32,292 votes (29.16%). The Indian National Lok Dal's Manoj Aggarwal got 3,465 votes (3.13%), the Aam Aadmi Party's Rajesh Kumar garnered 2,759 votes (2.49%), and Independents Karnail Singh Bangar and Chaudhary Chandan Singh polled 1,188 and 1,051 votes respectively. NOTA accounted for 1,444 votes (1.30%). The winning margin was 36,252 votes, with a total of 1,10,743 votes cast.
In the ward elections, the BJP won 17 of the 20 seats. Two wards went to Independents, and one was won by the Congress. The AAP and INLD failed to open their accounts, and all their candidates forfeited their security deposits.
Allegations of Irregularities
As counting trends favored the BJP, candidates from the Congress, INLD, and AAP alleged electoral irregularities. Sudha Bhardwaj questioned the transparency of the process, calling it "open cheating," while her husband termed the result a "murder of democracy." AAP candidate Rajesh Kumar accused the BJP of "vote theft," alleging a repeat of tactics used in the Chandigarh municipal corporation polls. INLD's Manoj Aggarwal claimed EVM tampering and irregularities in documentation. All three flagged a reported CCTV outage near the strong room before counting and raised concerns about possible foul play. The Congress also highlighted a list of over 8,000 allegedly duplicate voter cards submitted to the election commission prior to polling, which was sent for re-verification.
BJP's Response and Factors Behind Victory
Dismissing the allegations, Sham Lal Bansal blamed Congress's internal divisions for its poor performance. "The problem is not EVMs but Congress's factionalism. Despite visits by top leaders, they failed to connect with voters and kept making allegations throughout," he said. Celebrations erupted outside the counting center, with BJP workers welcoming winning candidates with laddoos and firecrackers.
Key Factors That Helped BJP Win
- Promises and Manifesto: The BJP promised major projects and resolving civic issues within 100 days, with the manifesto released by Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini.
- Defections: Senior Congress leaders, including former Mayor Upinder Ahluwalia and former council president Manveer Kaur Gill, joined the BJP.
- Clear Candidate List: BJP was the only party to announce all 20 candidates at once, ensuring clarity and preparation.
- Withdrawal of Disgruntled Candidates: The party convinced its disgruntled candidates who had filed as Independents to withdraw, after outreach led by the CM.
- Community Appeal: The BJP mayor candidate belongs to the traders' community, which forms a major voter base in the city.
- High-Profile Campaigning: Prominent faces, including MP Manoj Tiwari, Haryanvi singer Masoom Sharma, several state ministers, and senior leaders campaigned for the party.
- Anti-Incumbency Management: BJP avoided anti-incumbency by not repeating outgoing Mayor Kulbhushan Goyal and some sitting councillors.
Congress's Shortcomings
- Infighting: The candidature of Sudha Bhardwaj was seen as aligned with the camp of senior Congress leaders Kumari Selja and Panchkula MLA Chander Mohan, not Bhupinder Singh Hooda's camp, causing internal friction.
- Defections: Senior leaders jumping ship to the BJP during the peak of campaigning weakened the party.
- Disjointed Campaign: Lack of coordination between MLA Chander Mohan and four senior district Congress leaders, who were served notices last month.
- Candidate Selection Issues: Flip-flop on candidate selection harmed the party's image.
- Failed Messaging: The Congress's focus on "bogus voting" and "electoral irregularities" did not resonate with voters.
Comparison with Previous Election
In the 2020 Panchkula Municipal Corporation election, BJP's Kulbhushan Goyal won with a margin of 2,057 votes, securing 49,860 votes (48.05%) against Congress's Upinder Kaur Ahluwalia who got 46,07% votes. The BJP-JJP alliance won 11 seats (BJP 9, JJP 2), Congress 7, and Independents 2. The current result marks a significant improvement for the BJP, which now holds 17 seats.
