BJP’s mayoral candidate, Rajiv Jain, was elected Mayor of Sonepat for the second consecutive time in the Municipal Corporation elections held on Wednesday. Jain expressed gratitude to the people of Sonepat for the BJP’s historic victory and thanked the party high command for reposing faith in him.
Born on February 12, 1964, Rajiv Jain’s journey from journalism to politics has spanned over four decades. He completed his Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) degree and entered student politics during his college days, serving as secretary of the students’ union. In 1986, he began his career in journalism and worked for seven years with leading Hindi vernacular newspapers until 1993.
Jain also became actively involved in politics in 1986 and undertook a 45-day state-wide foot march against corruption and unemployment as part of a public awareness campaign. Owing to his political interest and journalistic background, he developed close ties with former Haryana Chief Minister Bansi Lal and joined the Haryana Vikas Party (HVP) in 1994. He later served as the party’s press secretary and subsequently as its general secretary.
When the HVP came to power, Jain served as Media Advisor to then Chief Minister Bansi Lal from 1996 to 1999. He contested the Assembly elections twice unsuccessfully — first in 2000 on an HVP ticket, where he finished third, and later in 2005 as an Independent candidate, where he secured the second position.
In 2007, Jain joined the BJP. His wife, Kavita Jain, was elected MLA from Sonepat in 2009 and retained the seat in 2014. She also served as a Cabinet Minister during the BJP government’s first tenure in Haryana. Rajiv Jain later served as Media Advisor to Union Minister and former Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. Although Kavita Jain lost the 2019 Assembly election, Rajiv Jain remained active in public life.
The BJP had fielded Rajiv Jain in the mayoral by-election held in March 2025, where he defeated Congress candidate Kamal Diwan by 34,970 votes. The mayoral seat had fallen vacant after former mayor Nikhil Madaan joined the BJP ahead of the 2024 Assembly elections.
This time again, the BJP reposed faith in Jain, and he once more defeated Kamal Diwan, this time by a margin of 23,247 votes.
Jain assured citizens that he would work with honesty and dedication for the city’s overall development.
