Vote for us, wedding bells later: MLA’s rally quip stirs laughter & a row

Gurgaon: A campaign speech in Rewari took an unexpected turn when BJP MLA Bimla Chaudhary, pitching for votes in the municipal council elections, offered young men something beyond roads and civic work — the promise of marriage.Speaking at a rally on Thursday for BJP chairperson candidate Vinita Pipal, the Pataudi MLA told a crowd packed with young voters that if they backed her party, “no unmarried man will remain single in Rewari”. The remark drew loud cheers, laughter and, soon after, a political buzz online.Chaudhary framed the promise dramatically from the stage. “My mothers and sisters, send Vinita to victory. The responsibility for the city’s development is ours,” she said.Then came the line that changed the mood of the meeting: “Today, I make another promise from this stage — the responsibility of getting married those youths who are still bachelors is also mine. You just give us your blessings.”The crowd burst out laughing. Health minister Aarti Rao, who was present at the event, joined the humour while endorsing the candidate. “Today, Bimla Chaudhary ji has done something remarkable. Talking about development was fine, but now it seems Bimla ji has opened a ‘marriage bureau’ in Rewari. She will also fulfil her promise,” she added.Later, when asked about the remark, Chaudhary doubled down in the same playful vein. Referring to local marriage ties, she said daughters from Palwal had long been married into Rewari, Rampura and Bijlighar. “Now, no one will remain a bachelor. First vote, then get yourself married. Not only will the BJP candidate for chairperson win, the youth will also get married. I have asked for votes considering them my own.”Voting for the municipal council elections will be held on May 10 while counting will take place on May 13. Polling is due in the municipal corporations of Panchkula, Sonipat and Ambala, the Rewari municipal council, and the municipal committees of Uklana, Sampla and Dharuhera.Chaudhary, a two-time BJP MLA from the Pataudi (SC) seat and a close supporter of Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh, first entered the Assembly in 2014. In her 2014 nomination affidavit, she described herself as illiterate; in 2024, after missing out on a ticket in 2019, she returned to the fray and declared she had passed Class 10 through National Open School in 2018.Chaudhary’s speech also revived memories of a similar controversy from 2014, when BJP leader Omprakash Dhankhar said that if the party made it to office in Haryana, no young man would remain unmarried and brides would be brought from Bihar. After the remark triggered outrage, he issued a clarification.The backdrop is especially sensitive in Rewari. According to 2025 data, the district recorded the state’s lowest sex ratio at birth at 882 girls per 1,000 boys, against Haryana’s average of 925.The state also runs a scheme, launched in July 2023, that gives unmarried men aged 45-60 a monthly pension of Rs 2,750, subject to income criteria.