The counting of votes for the Haryana Municipal Election is being held on Wednesday, with the ruling BJP-JJP alliance looking to win most seats amid anger over new farm laws. A voting percentage of nearly 60 was recorded as polling remained peaceful in the elections to municipal bodies in Haryana on Sunday, December 27.
The polls were held to elect the mayors and members of all the wards of Ambala, Panchkula and Sonipat municipal corporations, the president and members of the Municipal Council of Rewari and the municipal committees of Sampla (Rohtak), Dharuhera (Rewari) and Ukalana (Hisar).
Besides, bypolls for ward number 7 of the Municipal Committee, Indri (Karnal), ward number 13 of Bhuna (Fatehabad), ward number 12 of Rajound (Kaithal), ward number 14 of the Municipal Council, Fatehabad and ward number 29 of the Municipal Council, Sirsa were also held.
Panchkula: BJP wins 11 wards in Panchkula, Congress 7; BJP mayoral candidate Kulbhushan Goyal leads against Congress candidate Upinder Kaur Ahluwalia
Sonipat: Congress candidate Nikhil Madan defeats BJP's Lalit Batra
Rewari: BJP mayoral candidate Poonam Yadav wins
Panchkula: BJP mayoral candidate Kulbhushan Goyal leads (24,080 votes) against Congress candidate Upinder Kaur Ahluwalia trails (19,148 votes)
Ambala: Former Congress leader and Union minister Venod Sharma's wife Shakti Rani Sharma wins from Ambala
Rewari: BJP mayoral candidate Poonam Yadav wins in Rewari
Ambala: Former Congress leader and Union minister Venod Sharma's wife Shakti Rani Sharma (Jan chetna Party) is leading against BJP candidate. Official Congress candidate is in the third positions.
Panchkula: BJP's Kulbhushan Goyal is leading by a margin of 1200 votes after round 6 of counting of votes. There are six candidates for the post of Mayor and a total of 83 councillor candidates are contesting in 20 wards.
Uklana: JJP candidate defeated by Independent in Uklana Municipal Committee election.
Sonipat: Congress's Nikhil Madan is leading in mayoral polls
There is a direct fight between the ruling BJP-JJP combine and the Congress in the polls. Earlier this month, the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) had announced that it will boycott the municipal polls in protest against the alleged atrocities committed on farmers by the Centre and the state’s BJP-JJP government.
The State Election Commission had also allowed the COVID-19 patients, who are quarantined, to cast their votes in the last hour at their respective polling stations under the supervision of health authorities.
Sector magistrates were put on duty to coordinate this at the polling stations allocated to them. Braving the cold weather, people came out to cast their votes since morning. Over 7.80 lakh voters were eligible to exercise their franchise in the municipal polls.
In view of COVID-19, all the standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued by central and state authorities were strictly followed. The polling stations were sanitised a day before the elections.
(With PTI inputs)
