Chandigarh, May 13
The counting of votes for Haryana’s municipal elections continued on Wednesday with the Bharatiya Janata Party maintaining a strong lead in the mayoral contests of Ambala, Panchkula and Sonipat, according to official trends. Counting began at 8 am amid tight security arrangements across multiple counting centres in the state.
Polling for the elections was held on Sunday for mayoral and ward councillor posts in the municipal corporations of Ambala, Panchkula and Sonipat. Elections were also conducted for presidents and councillors in the Rewari municipal council and the municipal committees of Sampla, Dharuhera and Uklana.
According to trends during counting, BJP candidate Akshita Saini was leading the mayoral race in Ambala against Congress candidate Kulwinder Kaur. In Panchkula, BJP nominee Shyamlal Bansal was ahead of Congress candidate Sudha Bhardwaj, while AAP candidate Rajesh Kumar remained in third position.
In Sonipat, senior BJP leader Rajiv Jain was leading against Congress candidate Kamal Diwan. INLD candidate Anand Kumar was trailing in third place.
The BJP also registered victories in some smaller municipal bodies. In Dharuhera, BJP candidate Satyanarayan alias Ajay Jangra defeated Independent candidate Babu Lal by a margin of 6,236 votes. In Sampla, BJP’s Praveen secured victory over the Independent candidate Ankit by 687 votes.
However, the party faced a setback in Uklana, where Independent candidate Rima Soni defeated BJP nominee Nikita Goyal by 2,806 votes.
Bypolls for one ward each were also held in the municipal councils and committees of Tohana, Jhajjar, Rajound, Taraori, Kanina and Sadhaura.
Election officials said extensive security arrangements had been put in place to ensure the smooth counting of votes. CCTV surveillance, barricading and deployment of police personnel were arranged at all counting centres. Only authorised individuals were allowed entry into the venues.
Officials added that district election officers and returning officers had been directed to ensure the counting process remained fair, transparent and peaceful.
