BJP left with mixed emotions in Gurugram civic results

The civic elections in the twin corporations of Gurugram and Manesar have left the BJP in a mixed mood. While the party is celebrating its ‘triple engine’ victory in Gurugram, it is left introspecting in Manesar where, despite a campaign by all bigwigs, Independents defeated the party candidate and even clinched the mayor’s seat.

Manesar Municipal Corporation went on to have its first-ever elections after four years of its constitution, and out of 20 wards, Independent candidates have scored victory in 12 wards, and Independent candidate Dr Inderjeet Yadav has been elected the first-ever mayor of Manesar.

Yadav defeated the BJP’s candidate Sunder Lal by 2,293 votes by getting 26,393 votes. Interestingly, Inderjeet had initially sought a ticket from the BJP, and local MP and Central Minister Rao Inderjit Singh and Gurugram MLA Mukesh Pehalwan had recommended her name for the ticket. The party, however, went for Sunder Lal, who is a close confidante of Rao Narbir Singh and ML Khattar.  

“She was a strong candidate since day one, however, the local MP and MLA were ignored and the party went to take recommendations from leaders who have no idea about this political landscape. While all bigwigs campaigned for the BJP in this election, people went for candidates who have worked on the ground since the last four years,” said a local BJP leader, a close associate of the local MLA.

Sources claim that Independent candidates have already started contacting the BJP to switch over to the party, while the party is in touch with newly elected mayor Inderjeet Yadav to induct her.

“As of now, I have nothing to say on joining any party, but yes, I am thankful to the people for choosing me. We started this election with a vision very similar to the state government’s development plans. Manesar is the most revenue-generating area but with the biggest civic issues. Things will change now,” said Inderjeet Yadav while speaking to The Tribune.

Meanwhile, in Gurugram, the BJP has managed to get victory in 24 wards, while 12 independent candidates won. However, the party’s mayoral candidate Raj Rani Malhotra stole the show with a thunderous winning margin of around 1,50,000 votes.

Malhotra secured over 2.15 lakh votes, while her closest competitor, Congress candidate Seema Pahuja manged to get only 65,764 votes. Malhotra’s victory has been made the poster image of the triple engine government in the state.

“The party chose a normal resident like me to represent its vision of a mayor and people have accepted me. I will ensure that the vision of the party about the civic infrastructure of the city is materialised,” said Malhotra.