Chandigarh, May 13: The counting of votes for seven urban local bodies and 528 panchayats in Haryana commenced on Wednesday. This election features a direct contest between the ruling BJP and the main opposition party, Congress, with a voter turnout of 54.5 percent.
The elections include municipal corporations in Ambala, Panchkula, and Sonipat, along with the Rewari municipal council and the municipal committees of Sanpala, Dharuhera, and Uklana. Additionally, by-elections were held for one ward each in Tohana, Jhajjar, Rajound, Tarawadi, Kanina, and Sadhaura. The BJP and Congress are the primary contenders in this election.
BJP’s mayoral candidates are Akshita Saini from Ambala, Shyamlal Bansal from Panchkula, and Rajiv Jain from Sonipat. On the Congress side, Kulvinder Kaur is contesting from Ambala, Sudha Bhardwaj from Panchkula, and Kamal Diwan from Sonipat.
Out of a total of 873,177 voters, 475,948 cast their votes. State Election Commissioner Devendra Kalyan stated that district election officials and returning officers have been instructed to ensure transparency in the counting process. He emphasized that strict monitoring will be in place to maintain credibility, with special police security deployed at counting centers. Authorities have also been ordered to keep a close watch on anti-social elements.
According to the Election Commission, the highest voter turnout was recorded in the Sanpala municipal committee at 79.2 percent, followed by Uklana at 75.7 percent and Dharuhera at 72.4 percent. The Rewari municipal council saw approximately 64.8 percent voter participation. The high turnout in Sanpala has puzzled political observers, as this area falls under the constituency of former Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda, and the BJP contested the elections under its party symbol. Hooda had requested votes for a candidate capable of defeating the BJP in the absence of a Congress nominee.
In Sonipat and Rewari, the contest is directly between the BJP and Congress. In Sonipat, the competition is between BJP’s Rajiv Jain and Congress’s Kamal Diwan. In Uklana, BJP’s Nikita Goyal faces a strong challenge from independent candidate Reema Soni. Similarly, several independent candidates have made the contests in Sanpala and Dharuhera multi-faceted.
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Arpit Soni has had a passion for journalism since the beginning. Now he has turned this hobby into his profession. Arpit, who is a resident of Udaipur, enjoys editing and writing news related to journalism. He has worked as a Senior Content Producer in several important roles at Bhaskar, Patrika, Pratahkal, Punjab Kesari, and Times. Arpit completed his schooling in Udaipur and Jaipur. He has been working in the media industry for more than 10 years, and his journey is still continuing. ✍️📚
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