In a setback to the ruling BJP, in general, and a senior cabinet minister, an MP and five MLAs, in particular, the Congress registered an impressive win for the post of the mayor of the Haridwar municipal corporation the final result of which was declared in the morning on Wednesday. The Congress candidate Anita Sharma won by defeating saffron party contender Anu Kakkar by a margin of 3467 votes.
Notably, the seat was reserved for women for the first time. The city being deemed long as a saffron redoubt, the victory of the Congress has left the saffron camp sullen. Particularly so as the ruling party spent a lot in course of its high-decibel campaigning to keep its citadel of the holy city unscathed during the urban local body poll.
Anita Sharma polled 59672 votes while BJP’s Anu Kakkar secured 56230 votes. Following the somewhat unexpected victory, the Congress workers erupted into triumphalism.
They buoyantly said that the trend would repeat during the upcoming Lok Sabha election.
The shock of the saffron camp stemmed from the fact that the party had tasted defeat in areas like Bhupatwala, Saptrishi, Durganagar, Kharkhari and Kankhal which are known as saffron bastion.
However, in the ward member poll, BJP performed better, bagging 32 wards while Congress won from 21 wards and the independents registered victory in seven wards.
Following the announcement of her victory, Anita Sharma said while speaking to The Pioneer that it was a people’s victory.
“I am grateful to them for reposing confidence in me,” she said and added that she would show respect to all the ward members, no matter whether they are from BJP or are independents. Sounding philosophical, the BJP candidate Anu Kakkar said that win and victory are part of life.
“After the party gave me the ticket I pulled out all the stops to bring a victory for the party. But the people thought otherwise. I have gracefully accepted the people’s verdict,” she said.
Speaking to The Pioneer, a Congress veteran Ambrish Kumar said, “People wanted a change. The saffron party has been defeated despite huge money being spent on the campaigning.”
Observers say that the ruling BJP must go for serious introspection in the aftermath of the unexpected defeat with a few months left for the high-stake 2019 general election.