The BJP’s booth-level micromanagement, extensive campaigning by senior party leaders, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini’s marathon public outreach and the party’s “Triple Engine Government” slogan played a key role in its landslide victory in the Municipal Corporation elections in Sonepat.
As a result of the party’s organisational strength at the grassroots level, BJP candidate Rajiv Jain was re-elected Mayor of Sonepat, while the party also secured victory in 17 out of the 22 wards.
Sonepat, part of the Deswali belt, was once considered a stronghold of former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. However, over the last three elections, the electorate has consistently backed the BJP. In the October 2024 Assembly elections, voters elected BJP MLA Nikhil Madaan, while Rajiv Jain had also won the mayoral bypoll held in March last year.
In the latest civic polls, the results of which were declared on Wednesday, Rajiv Jain defeated Congress candidate Kamal Diwan by a margin of 23,247 votes. Jain secured 78,033 votes, while Diwan polled 54,786 votes out of the total 1,42,688 votes cast.
The BJP also improved its ward tally significantly. In the 2020 MC elections, the BJP had won 10 wards, while the Congress secured nine and one ward went to an Independent candidate. This time, the BJP won 17 wards, while the Congress managed to secure five.
Political analyst Virender Soni said the BJP was far ahead of the Congress in terms of preparation and organisational structure, which was clearly reflected during the campaign.
He noted that senior BJP leaders, including former Chief Minister and Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, BJP state in-charge Satish Poonia, BJP state president Mohan Lal Badoli and several MPs, ministers and MLAs actively campaigned for party candidates.
Soni added that the Chief Minister alone addressed more than 20 public meetings in a single day, while Congress leaders were largely absent from the ground campaign. He also pointed out that no major Congress star campaigner addressed public meetings in Sonepat during the elections.
Despite the defeat, Soni observed that the Congress candidate’s vote share had improved and the party succeeded in winning five wards.
Highlighting the BJP’s organisational advantage, he said the party had a strong booth-level network, unlike the Congress, which lacked a comparable grassroots structure.
BJP state chief Mohan Badoli credited the victory to party workers. “Our workers tirelessly reached out to residents at the booth level and informed them about the government’s schemes and achievements. This victory reflects the hard work of party workers and the trust people have shown in BJP’s policies,” he said.
