Kolkata flips, BJP leads in 102 of 144 civic wards

BJP's Shyam Lal Bansal was on Wednesday elected as the Mayor of Panchkula through a direct election, defeating arch-rival Congress's candidate Sudha Bhardwaj by a margin of 36,252 votes as the mayoral poll recorded a turnout of 53.4 per cent on Sunday.(File Photo)

BJP’s Shyam Lal Bansal was on Wednesday elected as the Mayor of Panchkula through a direct election, defeating arch-rival Congress’s candidate Sudha Bhardwaj by a margin of 36,252 votes as the mayoral poll recorded a turnout of 53.4 per cent on Sunday. A total of 68,544 votes were polled in favour of Bansal, while Bhardwaj secured 32,292 votes. Aam Aadmi Party candidate Rajesh Kumar secured 2,759 votes and INLD’s Manoj Aggarwal 3,465 votes, while NOTA got 1,443 votes in the mayoral polls.The result was declared after 21 rounds of vote counting at the counting centre in Sector 14, Panchkula. Bansal emerged victorious in his fourth election — earlier, he had unsuccessfully contested three Assembly elections from the Kalka constituency. After winning, Bansal and his supporters arrived in a vintage car. As Bansal began to gain from round 1, hopes for Bhardwaj gradually diminished as the margin increased with each round. Although she was defeated by a large margin, Bhardwaj alleged “vote chori” as she walked out of the counting centre midway. After around six rounds of counting, Bansal led by 13,282 votes, and BJP workers started gathering with ladoos to celebrate his victory. The margin of victory for Bansal, 36,252 votes, is much higher than in the previous elections in 2020, when the BJP candidate won by a margin of 2,057 votes.Story continues below this ad After his victory, Bansal said, “I will live up to the people’s expectations and continue working for the people of Panchkula as the BJP government has always done.” BJP wins 17 MC wards, Cong just one Out of the 20 wards of the Panchkuls Municipal Corporation, the BJP emerged victorious in 17, while the Congress managed to win just one ward, and two Independents were also elected. The Congress candidate won Ward No. 18 by a margin of 165 votes. Independents won Ward Nos. 17 and 20. In Ward No. 7, the BJP candidate won by a narrow margin of 79 votes, while in Ward No. 10, the margin was 59 votes.

Hina Rohtaki is a Special Correspondent at The Indian Express, based in Chandigarh. She is one of the most prominent journalists covering the Chandigarh Administration, civic issues, and the unique political status of the Union Territory.

Professional Background

Experience: She has been in the field for over a decade and is known for her investigative reporting on administrative waste and urban governance.

Awards: She is a recipient of the prestigious Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award, which was presented to her by the President of India in January 2020. She was also awarded the Jethmalani prize (The Will of Steel Awards) in 2025 in the Empowerment category for a series of articles that highlighted the struggles of Covid widows.

Core Beat: Her primary focus is the Chandigarh administrative structure, the Union Territory's financial management, and urban development projects.

Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025)

Her recent work highlights a focus on government accountability, administrative expenditures, and civic trends:

1. Investigative & Financial Reporting

"Fuelling power: Senior UT IAS officers guzzled petrol worth Rs 30 lakh in 2 yrs" (Dec 14, 2025): An investigative report detailing the high fuel bills of top bureaucrats, including the Finance Secretary and Chief Secretary’s staff.

"Admn spends Rs 1.5 crore on dismantling road railings and fixing again after increasing height" (Dec 8, 2025): Highlighting administrative waste on "non-viable" solutions for pedestrian control.

"Chandigarh’s finances under ministry’s watch now" (Nov 27, 2025): Reporting on the new requirement for MHA approval for all new projects in the UT.

2. Governance & Constitutiona