BJP sweeps Sonipat civic polls, Rajiv Jain elected mayor

Sonipat: The BJP has registered a sweeping victory in the Sonipat Municipal Corporation elections, clinching the mayoral post and securing a dominant majority in the ward elections. BJP candidate Rajiv Jain defeated Congress nominee Kamal Diwan by a massive margin of 23,247 votes in results declared on Wednesday.District election officer and deputy commissioner Neha Singh said Rajiv Jain secured 78,033 votes, while Congress candidate Kamal Diwan polled 54,786 votes. INLD candidate Anand Kumar finished a distant third with 5,210 votes. Among independent candidates, Anal Singhal received 651 votes; Dr Kamlesh Kumar Saini 305; Chand Ram 318 and Ramesh Kumar Khatri Numberdar 1,071. The BJP also emerged overwhelmingly dominant in the councillor elections, winning 17 of the 22 municipal wards, while Congress managed to secure victory in only five wards. Congress candidates won in wards 1, 16, 19, 21 and 22, whereas BJP candidates swept the remaining 17 wards.One of the closest contests was witnessed in Ward No. 16, where Congress candidate Anurag Jain defeated BJP nominee Naveen Kumar by just 30 votes. In Ward No. 17, BJP candidate Sunita defeated Congress candidate Rajesh by 1,987 votes. Scenes of celebration erupted outside the counting centre after the declaration of results, with BJP workers distributing sweets and raising slogans in support of the party leadership. Congress leaders, meanwhile, described victories in five wards as a sign of continued grassroots presence despite the BJP's sweeping performance.