The counting of votes for the 2026 municipal elections in Haryana began early Wednesday morning, bringing intense political activity to several urban centres across the state. Counting started at 8 am under tight security arrangements in key cities including Panchkula, Ambala, and Sonepat, where election officials and party representatives gathered at designated counting centres to track the results round by round.
Authorities ensured strong security measures around the counting venues to avoid any disruptions. In Panchkula, the traffic police issued a special advisory early in the morning to manage the movement of vehicles near the counting centre. Several routes were temporarily closed between 5 am and 5 pm to ensure a smooth and secure counting process.
The elections witnessed a significant voter turnout across the participating urban local bodies. According to officials, a total of 4,75,948 votes were cast out of 8,73,177 eligible voters. The civic polls covered municipal corporations in Ambala, Panchkula, and Sonepat. In addition, voting was also held for the municipal council in Rewari and municipal committees in Dharuhera, Sampla, and Uklana.
Early trends from the counting centres suggest that candidates from the Bharatiya Janata Party are performing strongly in several wards and mayoral races. In Ambala, BJP candidates have already secured victories in a number of wards. Vishal Rana won Ward Number 1 by a narrow margin of 68 votes after securing 2,060 votes, defeating Satwinder Singh of the Indian National Congress, who received 1,992 votes. Another BJP candidate, Varkha Rani, registered a comfortable victory in Ward Number 2 with a margin of 551 votes.
More wins followed for the BJP in Ambala as Manish Anand and Varinder Nath emerged victorious from Ward Number 3 and Ward Number 4 respectively. In the mayoral contest of Ambala, BJP candidate Akshita Saini took an early lead after the first round of counting with 2,978 votes, staying ahead of Congress candidate Kulwinder Kaur, who secured 2,348 votes.
Meanwhile, the mayoral race in Sonepat is drawing considerable attention as the counting progresses. BJP candidate Rajiv Jain has built a steady lead over his rivals. After the first round of counting, he was ahead by 2,960 votes. By the third round, his lead widened significantly to 6,903 votes. Rajiv Jain secured 19,253 votes in the early rounds, while Congress candidate Kamal Diwan received 12,350 votes.
Ward-level results in Sonepat have also started coming in. Congress managed to win Ward Number 1, while BJP candidate Mukesh Bamnia secured victory in Ward Number 2.
In Panchkula, the mayoral race also appears to be tilting in favour of the BJP during the early rounds of counting. BJP candidate Shyam Lal Bansal has taken a clear lead after the second round of counting. Bansal secured 7,222 votes, while Congress candidate Sudha Bhardwaj received 2,651 votes. Candidates from other parties are trailing significantly, including Rajesh Kumar of the AAP and Manoj Aggarwal of the INLD.
In Sonepat, the counting for the mayoral election and 22 councillor seats is being conducted at the counting centre set up at BITS Mohana Campus. Election officials began the process early in the morning with sealed ballot boxes and EVMs brought to the counting tables under strict supervision.
As the counting continues through multiple rounds, the final results for mayoral positions and ward councillors are expected later in the day. Political observers say the outcome of these civic elections could influence the political atmosphere in Haryana in the coming months, as local body elections often serve as an important indicator of public sentiment.