Gurgaon civic polls: Khattar justifies poll show, says mayor will be of BJP

Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Tuesday said the performance of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) elections was justified as it took its tally from four in 2011 to 14.

Taking a dig at opposition parties, Khattar said that in 2011, the number of Congress-backed candidates has decreased from 20 to six while the Indian National Lok Dal, which had six councillors last term, has only one this time.

Khattar was in Gurgaon on Tuesday to visit the Sheetla temple. “It is strange that opposition is nowhere in the MCG election. The mayor will be from BJP and the party has performed better than the previous time,” he said.

He said the opposition leaders are attacking the BJP to mask their poor performances. He also said that the ticket allocation will be reviewed and improved upon.

BJP had aimed to get at least 30 seats and an internal survey by the party leaders had projected victory in 24 wards. Some local leaders were surprised that only 14 candidates had won.

The party leaders are now in the process of placating the rebel candidates who won as independents. About a dozen rebels belong to camps of two senior leaders and they held a meeting on Monday at the residences of the leaders, said sources.

“Forming the house is not tough as the party has 14 candidates and only five more are required. The tussle among senior leaders is over who will be the mayor,” a party source said.