BJP-JJP alliance wins 25 Haryana civic bodies, AAP makes debut, dismal show by Opposition Congress

Tribune News Service

Geetanjali Gayatri

Chandigarh, June 22

The ruling BJP-JJP alliance won a majority of the presidential posts of the municipal bodies, indicating the Agnipath protests had no bearing on the election. While the Aam Aadmi Party opened its account in the state, Congress-supported candidates put up a dismal show.

The BJP, which contested 34 seats, won 22, while the JJP bagged three. Over 70 per cent votes were polled in the election for presidents and members of 18 municipal councils and 28 committees. Having contested on the party symbol from 20 committees and 14 councils, the BJP bagged 12 and 10 presidential posts, respectively. The JJP won Nuh, Shahbad and Cheeka. The BJP suffered a setback in Karnal, the district from where CM Manohar Lal Khattar is the MLA. The BJP lost two of the three seats it contested on the party symbol.

The Congress did not contest on the party symbol, but supported Independents. Only six such candidates won. Those in Jhajjar and Bahadurgarh, considered the Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s turf, fared poorly. The candidate backed by AICC general secretary Randeep Surjewala too lost from Kaithal.

AAP, making its debut, won the Ismailabad seat, while the Independents, including the Congress-backed ones, won 19 seats. The INLD, too, fared poorly, winning only the Mandi Dabwali seat.

The BJP is elated with its performance despite the election being held in the midst of the protests against the Agnipath scheme. Hooda said the BJP had lost in the urban areas, considered its stronghold. “The party got 26.3 per cent votes in cities, while the Independents polled twice the number,” he claimed.

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