Haryana civic polls 2026 are scheduled for May 10 across seven municipal bodies, including Panchkula, Ambala and Sonipat, with nominations from April 21 to 25 and counting on May 13.(File Photo)
Haryana is heading into another round of civic polls with seven municipal bodies, including the corporations of Panchkula, Ambala and Sonipat, scheduled to vote on May 10 this year.
State Election Commissioner Devender Singh Kalyan announced that counting will take place on May 13. Nominations will be filed between April 21 and 25, with election symbols allotted on April 28. These elections will choose mayors and ward members in the three corporations, along with the president and members of the Municipal Council of Rewari, and the municipal committees of Sampla in Rohtak, Dharuhera in Rewari and Uklana in Hisar.
The reservation draw conducted in January set aside the Ambala mayoral seat for a backward class woman, while Panchkula and Sonipat remain open to candidates from all categories. In Rewari, the council president’s post has been reserved for a Scheduled Caste woman, and Uklana’s for a general category woman, while Sampla and Dharuhera posts remain unreserved.
The last municipal elections were held in December 2020, when the BJP and its ally JJP contested together but faced mixed results. Congress won the Sonipat mayoral seat, while BJP managed a narrow victory in Panchkula. Ambala went to the Haryana Jan Chetna Party (JCP), led by former minister Venod Sharma, marking the first time direct mayoral elections were held in these three cities. The BJP secured the Rewari civic body chief’s post, while an independent backed by former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda triumphed in Sampla. The JJP suffered setbacks in Uklana and Dharuhera.
The political landscape shifted ahead of the October 2024 Assembly polls. Nikhil Madaan, then Sonipat mayor from Congress, joined the BJP and won the Sonipat Assembly seat. In Ambala, Shakti Rani Sharma, who had been mayor as a Haryana Jan Chetna Party leader, also joined the BJP and won the Kalka Assembly seat. These moves helped the BJP secure a third consecutive term in government.
In March 2025, the BJP consolidated its dominance in municipal politics, winning nine of ten mayoral contests, with only Manesar going to an independent candidate. The party’s candidates prevailed in Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ambala, Hisar, Karnal, Rohtak, Panipat, Sonipat and Yamunanagar, defeating Congress rivals. That round of elections included contests in seven municipal corporations, while bypolls were conducted for the mayoral posts in Ambala and Sonipat.
Now, as Punjab prepares for Assembly polls in early 2027, Haryana’s municipal elections will once again test the strength of the BJP, Congress, and Aam Aadmi Party, setting the tone for the next phase of state politics.
Curated by Aisha Patel
