Cong loses face in Gurugram civic body poll

While the BJP celebrated in Gurugram and Independents triumphed in Manesar, Congress suffered a major blow in the NCR cities of Gurugram and Faridabad. The party, which had hoped to recover from its Vidhan Sabha defeat through the civic body elections, failed miserably in Gurugram. It secured only one seat, with its much-celebrated mayoral candidate, Seema Pahuja, a BJP import, suffering a devastating loss to Raj Rani Malhotra, a political newcomer.

In Manesar, where Congress had been confident according to its internal surveys, the party’s mayoral candidate garnered only around 5,000 votes, finishing fourth. In Faridabad, Congress’s mayoral candidate, Lata Rani, lost by a massive margin of over three lakh votes to BJP’s Praveen Joshi.

Political analysts point to a relatively low voter turnout in urban areas as a factor behind BJP’s victory. However, Congress must face the harsh reality of its struggles. Three consecutive defeats in Gurugram highlight significant challenges, including a lack of core organisational structure, weak local leadership and low voter popularity.

After the defeat, Congress’s election coordinator for Gurugram, Pankaj Dawar, issued a statement acknowledging the need for introspection. “We accept the public mandate and recognise that we must review our strategies. However, our vote share has increased by 91,000 votes compared to the last election, indicating growing acceptance of our ideology. We will function as the opposition and continue raising civic problems that matter to the people,” Dawar said.

In Gurugram, Congress’s only winner was Stapal Jhangu from Ward 6. In contrast, the JJP’s Ram Avtar Rana secured victory in Ward 5. BJP claimed victory in wards 1, 2, 8, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34 and 36. Independents triumphed in wards 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 12, 17, 23, 33, 34 and 35.

The president of the district unit of the BJP, Kamal Yadav, responded to the results, stating, “The outcome of these elections proves that, contrary to what the opposition claims, Gurugram relies on BJP for its development. With a triple-engine government, the city’s future is secure.”