Ambala polls: Poor turnout, big claims

The mayoral byelection of Ambala Municipal Corporation witnessed a poor voter turnout, with only 31.9% of the 1.93 lakh registered voters casting their votes. Both BJP and Congress leaders attributed the low enthusiasm to the fact that it was a byelection with just 10 months of tenure left.

Despite the low turnout, the BJP remains confident of a landslide victory, while Congress believes the ruling party is overconfident.

Turnout falls to 31.9%, only 61,561 voters cast votes

BJP leader Sandeep Sachdeva said, “Many factors contributed to the low turnout — being a byelection, a Sunday, a cricket match, and public confidence that BJP would win by a big margin. However, we are sure that BJP will secure a resounding victory.”

On the other hand, Congress candidate Amisha Chawla said, “Voters were not very interested in the election due to the short tenure left. The BJP is overconfident, but the voters were silent. We are confident that, like in the Assembly elections, Ambala has voted for Congress and we will win.”

Congress leader Rohit Jain said, “The BJP boasts about its strong organisation, yet the low turnout indicates that even its workers did not turn up. Their ‘triple-engine government’ slogan has failed to energise voters.”

The Ambala Sadar Municipal Council election also recorded a poor turnout of 52.4%, with only 93,542 of 1.78 lakh voters casting their votes. Notably, Congress did not contest these polls on its party symbol.

Haryana Cabinet Minister Anil Vij explained the turnout, stating, “Elections are typically contested between the ruling and opposition parties, but in Haryana, the Opposition has collapsed. As a result, Opposition voters didn’t show up, while BJP supporters did. This is why the turnout was low.”

Political analyst Kushal Pal offered a broader perspective, saying, “The lack of a strong Opposition in Haryana played a key role in the poor turnout. Congress leaders shifting to BJP, the Delhi election results, and Congress’s reluctance to actively contest civic body polls have created a perception that BJP will win easily. This voter apathy is unhealthy for democracy.”