The Barnala municipal corporation (MC) elections have highlighted a strong trend of family politics, with two contesting couples sweeping adjoining wards. An Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) couple and a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) couple emerged victorious, while an independent candidate won his seat but saw his wife lose by a narrow margin. Additionally, BJP's Mamta Garg extended her family's winning streak by becoming its third successive member to secure a municipal election victory.
Winning Couples
AAP's Kuldeep Dharma won from Ward 8, while his wife, Renu Dharma, won from Ward 9. Similarly, BJP candidate Dharam Singh Fauzi won from Ward 28, and his wife, Sukhdial Kaur, won from Ward 27. Independent candidate Hem Raj Garg won from Ward 32, but his wife, Urmila Devi, lost as an independent candidate from Ward 33. Ward 33 witnessed violence on polling day when supporters of the AAP candidate and Urmila Devi clashed.
Campaign Strategies
Hem Raj Garg was so confident about his victory from his ward that he devoted most of his time campaigning for his wife. "I consider my ward as my family, and residents of my ward come to me without any hesitation to get their grievances addressed. Our continued association proved beneficial for our victories in both the wards," said Dharma. Fauzi called himself a "committed soldier of BJP." He added, "The party reposed faith in me by providing two tickets in my family. We proved the party's decision right by winning from both seats." Garg credited his victory to his remaining among the people of his ward. "They, in fact, asked me to concentrate on Ward 33, where my wife was contesting for the first time," said Garg.
Family Legacy
BJP's Mamta Garg, who won from Ward 41, became the third member from her family to win the MC election. She secured victory by one of the biggest margins in Barnala. Her father-in-law, Raghbir Prakash, won in 2016, and her husband, Narinder Garg, won in 2021. AAP functionary Dheeraj Daddahoor refuted charges of highhandedness.
