The Congress party suffered yet another humiliating electoral setback in Haryana, failing to secure even a single mayoral seat in the local body elections, clearing the path for the ruling BJP to dominate state’s Urban politics as well.
The grand old party, which had hoped to rebuild its political standing after a dismal performance in the 2024 assembly elections, was handed another crushing defeat as the BJP swept all 10 mayoral seats.
The defeat has further exposed the deep-rooted infighting within the state unit and the lack of a strong organisational setup, which continues to plague Congress in Haryana. The civic polls saw several local leaders and workers switching loyalties to the BJP ahead of the elections, leaving Congress struggling to put up a fight.
While the BJP ran a well-structured and aggressive campaign with Chief Minister Nayab Saini, Union Ministers and Cabinet Ministers leading from the front, Congress leaders were nowhere to be seen on the ground. The absence of senior leadership was glaring as campaign responsibilities were merely distributed among local leaders. But their efforts fell short in countering the BJP’s massive campaign machinery.
Reacting to the party’s defeat, senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda dismissed the loss, saying, “Defeat doesn’t make any difference. Even earlier, the BJP had dominance in municipal elections.” Hooda further stated, “If we have lost a mayoral seat, it may be a setback, but these seats were never ours to begin with. In some places, Congress might have even gained an advantage. Perhaps our number of councillors has increased from one to two.” Hooda’s casual attitude only underscores the Congress’s growing disconnect from ground realities. Acknowledging the party’s lack of effort, he admitted, “We did not put in any real effort in these elections. I did not campaign anywhere during the elections because I usually do not campaign in panchayat or municipal elections.”
The Congress party in Haryana is currently going through one of its worst political phases. Once a stronghold of the party, Haryana has now turned into a BJP-dominated state, primarily due to Congress’s internal strife. The party has not only suffered setbacks in back-to-back elections but has also failed to appoint a Leader of Opposition in the state assembly after its poor showing in October last year.
Even in recent high-level meetings with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, several party leaders expressed their dissatisfaction with the current state leadership. But they have failed to take any immediate decision as Hooda faction remains in control, further alienating many other senior leaders and workers.
Just like in the assembly elections, Congress entered the municipal polls without a structured campaign plan. The party struggled with a severe shortage of committed ground workers and lacked a strong organizational network. Unlike the BJP, which conducted multiple rounds of door-to-door campaigns, Congress failed to reach out to voters even once.
Factionalism within Congress was once again on full display, particularly in municipal corporations. Several leaders who were eyeing mayoral tickets became disgruntled after being denied nominations, leading to a lackluster campaign. The internal power struggle between the Selja and Hooda factions further weakened the party, with continuous electoral defeats leaving workers demoralized and directionless.
Unlike the BJP, which strategically fielded strong candidates in all wards, Congress struggled to even find enough candidates to contest across constituencies. In some municipal corporations, the party was forced to support independent candidates due to a lack of viable contenders. The BJP capitalized on this weakness, aggressively targeting Congress in its campaign and further denting its credibility among voters.
According to the political observers the Haryana civic polls have once again highlighted Congress’s declining political influence in the state as unless the leadership crisis is addressed and a strong grassroots organization is rebuilt, Congress’s woes in Haryana are only set to deepen.
