Semi-final Before Assembly Polls? Resurgent BJP Sweeps 3 Municipal Corporations, Cong Retains Palampur

Much ahead of next year’s state assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday swept the polls in three of four municipal corporations, marking a political resurgence of the party. 

The civic body polls and Panchayati Raj elections, held after High Court orders, seem to put the wind beneath the BJP’s sails, as these elections were seen as a “semi-final” for power in a state with a long-standing pattern of alternating between Congress and BJP rule every five years.

In the results declared two weeks after the polling, the BJP won in Mandi, Dharamshala, and Solan, while the Congress retained control of the Palampur Municipal Corporation.

In Mandi, a stronghold of former Chief Minister Jairam Thakur, the BJP registered a remarkable win with 12 seats out of a total of 14, confining the ruling Congress to just one seat, three down from the previous House. One independent also won the polls. 

In Dharamshala, considered the state’s second capital and nerve centre of politics, the BJP emerged victorious in 11 of the 17 seats, while the Congress won 5, and 1 seat went to an independent candidate. 

Dharamshala is the headquarter of the state's largest district, Kangra, which has 15 assembly constituencies, more than Shimla district. Any party that gains ground in Kangra eventually rules from Shimla. 

With its victory at Dharamshala, the BJP will find a fresh momentum, especially with former Congress minister Sudhir Sharma, now a prominent BJP face, consolidating his position as the most vocal and bitter opponent of Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu.

Sharma was once a staunch loyalist of the late six-time Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and was seen as the chief ministerial choice in the state. But when Sukhu did not induct him as minister in his cabinet after becoming chief minister in 2022, he revolted and eventually joined the BJP.

Later, he won the Dharamshala seat in the bypoll on a BJP ticket in 2024.

Reacting to the party’s win in Dharamshala, Sudhir Sharma said the victory reflected public anger against the Congress government and growing support for the BJP.

"The verdict suggests a strong voter backlash against the policies and working style of the Sukhu-led administration. It is expected to energise the BJP and dent the Congress’s narrative of political ascendancy.”

Congress wrests Palampur

In Solan, the BJP triumphed on 10 seats of the total 15. The ruling Congress could win only six, while the Independent 1.

The Congress, however, secured a majority and retained Palampur, where the party was backed by sitting MLA Ashish Butail, who benefits from the legacy of his father, B B. L Butail, a former Speaker. The Congress has won 11 of the total 15 seats, while the BJP, which earlier stood at one seat, has now improved to four.

BJP supporters began celebrating immediately after the results started pouring in, with Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur leading the celebrations at Mandi’s historic Seri Manch as he addressed jubilant party workers, declaring that Congress should see these poll results as the writing on the wall.

"In assembly polls, the BJP reduced the Congress presence to just one assembly seat out of 10. Again, in the Mandi MC polls, the Congress could win only one seat. Come the assembly polls, the Congress will disappear from Mandi and the state. The people are restless to oust the Congress, as they are totally disillusioned and frustrated with the lackluster three-and-a-half-year rule,”  he declared.

Setback for CM Sukhu?

Since the elections were held on the party symbols, Sukhu will have no explanation but to admit that Congress has suffered a drubbing in the polls, which he never wanted to hold. It was the High Court and the Supreme Court that ordered the holding of elections to urban local bodies and PRIs before May 31.

"The people have expressed their dissatisfaction with the Congress government's functioning through the ballot," Sudhir Sharma said, alleging that the government had failed to address issues concerning employees, youth, women, traders, and the general public.

Political analysts say the BJP  winning a majority in three of the four municipal corporations for which the elections were held, sends out a strong signal. The victory reflects the BJP's expanding reach, for which former Chief Minister Jairam Thakur has put in hard work and toil along with state BJP president Rajeev Bindal.

Former union minister Anurag Thakur, who also campaigned in the state, posted  on X, "The resounding victory of the BJP in the municipal and Panchayati raj elections is a public mandate reflecting the people’s support for the nationalist and development-oriented policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP."

He said the people have voted against anti-people policies of the Congress, administrative disorder, and stalled development. It is now clear that the BJP will form the next government in Himachal Pradesh with a full majority in 2027.

The Congress termed the BJP's victory euphoria "artificial" and premature, arguing that results from just four municipal bodies cannot be seen as a verdict on the state government's performance or an indicator of the future outcome of the next Assembly elections. It said the broader electoral picture would emerge only after the Panchayat and Zila Parishad results are declared. 

Naresh Chauhan, the CM's principal media advisor, said, "The leader of the opposition, Jairam Thakur, seems to be in a hurry to stake his claim to the CM's post due to internal war within the BJP. I advise him to differentiate between fiction and political realities. There are many a slip between the cup and the lip."