In a historic first for local governance in Haryana, the civics election of 2025 has initiated a remarkable shift in political fortunes across the state. Not only did Manesar elect an independent Mayor for the first time ever, but there was also a significant win for the BJP in Gurugram.
The Inaugural Mayoral Election
The intricacies of the election: March 2, 2025. The first mayoral election of the newly formed Municipal Corporation of Manesar was held on this day. Independent candidate Dr. Inderjit Yadav won, defeating BJP’s Sunder Lal by two thousand two hundred and ninety-three votes.
Dr. Inderjit Yadav got twenty-six thousand three hundred and ninety-three votes while Sunder Lal received twenty-four thousand one hundred votes. The outcome brings a political sea change as an independent candidate trounced a major national party.
Overall, the voter turnout in Manesar was sixty-five point nine percent, which is much higher than the resistant state’s average of forty-one percent during these elections. This shows how much, given an opportunity, the residents wanted to express their sentiments on the vision for their city.
BJP’s Win in Gurugram
In Gurugram, Raj Rani Malhotra of BJP won convincingly with two hundred fifteen thousand seven hundred fifty-four votes over Congress Seema Pahuja’s own sixty-five thousand seven hundred sixty-four-a truly magnificent margin of one hundred forty-nine thousand nine hundred ninety votes that symbolizes the BJP’s strong presence in this crucial area.
Such was the support extended to the BJP in Gurgaon that over thirty-six municipal wards of Gurgaon participated in this election. Recently, with the expansion of MCG into thirty-six wards, the Mayor of Gurugram hails from the BJP.
A major breakthrough for the organized party is assumed: the winning of Malhotra will strengthen the rule over not only the Gurgaon of Haryana. However, it is also considered as the measure of party rule to continue its old dominance inside the ground, where it still lacks control.
Statewise Election Overview
In generalized reporting: The elections were held for seven municipal corporations. Among which there were Gurugram, Manesar, Faridabad, Hisar, Rohtak, Karnal, and Yamunanagar. Though electorates were for presidents and ward members held for four municipal councils and twenty-one municipal committees.
Besides these were also the bypolls of three presidents. The Municipal Council of Sohna Gurgaon, the Municipal Committee of Assandh Karnal, and the Municipal Committee of Ismailabad Kurukshetra.
BJP’s Position in Other Municipalities
Apart from Gurugram and Manesar, the BJP did fairly well in the elections in other municipalities. In Ambala, BJP’s Shailja Sachdeva beat Congress’s Amisha Chawla with a margin of 20,487 votes.
BJP’s Ram Avtar in Rohtak outscored Congress’s Surajmal Kiloi by more than 45,000 votes, garnering over a lakh votes. BJP’s Parveen Joshi led Lata Rani from Congress in the mayoral race in Faridabad.
Political surroundings are changing their gears due to the outcome of the elections. Certainly, it holds greater significance for Haryana. Relatively steady support is from voters towards urban areas. It has continuously worked in favor of the BJP as against the Congress.
For the first time, municipal elections were contested under its party symbol. But suffered losses, especially in essential pockets of Rohtak and Gurugram.
This could also help the parties to re-frame their political strategies and directions before they go to the next state assembly elections. The BJP has successfully sold policies on urban development and governance. Indeed, voters are connected with their vision. Meanwhile Congress needs to introspect if it wishes to recover Haryana’s metropolitan areas.
The 2025 Haryana civic elections hold historical significance, being the first mayoral elections in Manesar and further fortifying the BJP’s grip on urban municipalities like Gurugram, reshaping local governance and political relations.
