Why Haryana civic poll results should be big worry for Cong strongman Bhupinder Singh Hooda

Bhupinder Singh Hooda

Suffering a second straight election loss in Haryana after the Assembly polls last year, the Congress party was on Wednesday outpaced by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – which secured victory in nine out of ten civic bodies, including in Gurugram and Rohtak, the bastion of Congress stalwart Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

BJP candidate Ram Avatar Valmiki won the Rohtak mayoral election beating Congress’ Surajmal Kiloi by a margin of 45,198 votes. In Sonipat, senior BJP leader Rajiv Jain defeated Congress’s Komal Dewan and Raj Rani won from Gurugram.

In Manesar, where municipal elections were held for the first time, independent candidate Inderjeet Yadav emerged victorious. She defeated her nearest BJP rival Sunder Lal by a margin of 2,293 votes.

Is Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s clout fading?

The defeat of the Congress candidate in the Rohtak mayoral election is a significant setback for former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, especially after the party maintained its grip over Rohtak and Jhajjar districts in the 2024 Assembly polls, winning seven of the eight seats.

In May last year, the Congress snatched the Rohtak Lok Sabha seat from the BJP, with Hooda’s son Deepender Hooda delivering a commanding win by over 3.45 lakh votes. The party’s failure in the Rohtak mayoral polls delivers a serious blow to both Hooda, the two-time chief minister and four-time MP, and the Congress.

Hooda, who is already facing increased pressure due to the Congress' surprising loss in the Assembly elections, where exit polls had forecasted a victory, is now expected to encounter even stronger criticism within the party.

In Haryana, Hooda was the driving force behind the Congress’s electoral strategy, managing the entire campaign and controlling ticket distribution. Despite his leadership, the grand-old-party secured only 37 seats in the 90-member Assembly while BJP bagged 48 seats registering its third straight win.

Despite the civic polls setback, Hooda remained defiant, asserting that the results would have little effect on the Congress.

"Earlier also, the municipal corporations were dominated by the BJP. It could be a setback if we lost the seat, but it was already not with us. The Congress must have gained in some areas, but I did not go anywhere during the elections. I don't think these results will have an impact," Hooda was quoted as saying by India Today.

The choice of the Leader of Opposition in the Haryana Assembly is expected to be impacted as well. Hooda previously held the position, but the Congress has yet to decide on a new LoP, even five months after the Assembly polls.

Earlier, in an interview with The Indian Express, a senior leader spoke about the appointment of Congress Legislative Party (CLP), who can assume the role of LoP in the House.

“Currently, of the 37 Congress MLAs, at least 30 are on (Hooda’s) side. It depends on the party high command whether it commits the mistake of keeping (Haryana Congress president Udai) Bhan and Hooda at the helm of affairs or brings in changes that benefits the party. If Hooda continues then (Congress MP) Kumari Selja would not let him… and vice versa,” the leader stated.