Gurgaon: The only municipal corporation where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) did not secure the mayor's seat in the 2025 corporation polls fell into the saffron fold on Wednesday after Manesar Mayor Inderjeet Kaur Yadav and eight councillors formally joined the party. Inderjeet had won the mayor's post as an Independent candidate.
The political realignment took place in the presence of Haryana BJP President Mohan Lal Badoli, Union Minister and Gurgaon MP Rao Inderjit Singh, and BJP Haryana General Secretary Surender Punia. This development brings the 20-member Municipal Corporation of Manesar (MCM) under the BJP umbrella.
Background of the Election
Inderjeet had inflicted a crushing defeat on BJP's candidate Sunder Lal Yadav by 2,293 votes in the mayoral polls, denying the saffron party a clean sweep across all corporations. That gap has now been filled. The joining ceremony was conducted in Rewari, where municipal council polls are scheduled for May 10.
BJP originally won only seven of the 20 councillor seats in the March 2025 MCM election, with the rest going to Independents. However, seven Independent councillors later extended support to BJP, taking the party's tally to 14. Among the 10 municipal corporations in Haryana that held elections in March last year, Manesar stood out as the only one where BJP did not perform well.
Details of the Joining
The eight councillors who joined BJP include:
- Jugminder Yadav of Ward 1
- Bhupender Banti (Ward 8)
- Ram Prakash (Ward 10)
- Ravinder Fauji (Ward 13)
- Pinki Devi (Ward 15)
- Parvesh Yadav (Ward 18)
- Ravi Yadav (Ward 19)
- Pratap Singh of Ward 20
Among them, Bhupender Banti and Pinki Devi were already part of the seven councillors who joined BJP in July 2025 after the polls. At that time, the mayor and eight councillors, including Bhupender and Pinki, skipped the special House meeting in which BJP-backed candidates Parveen Yadav and Reema Chauhan—from the Rao Narbir camp—were elected unopposed as senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor.
Their absence was widely viewed as a reflection of the factional struggle between the Rao Narbir Singh and Rao Inderjit Singh camps within the BJP. On Wednesday, both councillors formally aligned with the Inderjit Singh camp at the event in Rewari. The mayor cited medical reasons for her absence in a letter to the then MCM commissioner.
Internal Dynamics
Ahead of that election, some BJP-supported councillors were flown to Nepal amid fears of cross-voting and defections, underlining the intensity of internal power struggles. Wednesday's ceremony, held in the presence of Inderjit, sent a clear political message.
Although the entire MCM House is now aligned with BJP, internal divides remain evident. Twelve councillors are broadly seen as belonging to the Rao Narbir camp, while the eight newly inducted councillors have been identified with the Inderjit faction.
Inderjit downplayed the divide, stating that the party regularly inducts new members to expand its support base. "This is a routine process and we welcome elected representatives when they decide to join the party," said Singh.
The mayor also underlined her long association with him. "I have been associated with Inderjit for the last 15-16 years. Now that I have officially joined BJP under the guidance of Rao saheb, I will work with him for the betterment of the city," she said after joining the party.
Upcoming MCG Deputy Mayor Elections
The development comes a day before the MCG deputy mayor elections. In the 36-member MCG House, BJP now has the support of 32 councillors. The party won 24 seats in the March 2025 civic polls, securing its first-ever majority in MCG, and was later joined by eight independents. Congress and JJP won one seat each.
Sources said if no consensus emerges on a candidate in Thursday's MCG deputy mayor election, the mayor or some councillors may stay away from the voting process.
