In Himachal Pradesh, where the political fate of the State is largely decided in its villages, the election of nearly 2,400 Congress-aligned Pradhans (village heads) and 2,600 Deputy Pradhans across 3,754 Panchayats is a testament to the faith people have reposed in the Congress government’s positive developmental style of governance, said Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi on Thursday (June 4, 2026).

Mr. Negi said the trend in favour of the Congress continued in urban areas as well, with Congress-backed candidates winning 29 out of 53 urban local bodies across the State. “In Kangra district, Congress swept all six municipal bodies without conceding a single one to the BJP. Mandi district, too, witnessed a complete collapse of the BJP’s urban support base,” he said at a press conference in Shimla.

Hitting out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he accused the party of attempting to distract the public from pressing concerns such as spiralling petrol, diesel and cooking gas prices by falsely projecting itself as the winner of the recent Panchayat elections.

“People across the State are demanding answers from the BJP over rising inflation, yet the party is busy claiming a hollow victory in Panchayat elections in which voters had clearly rejected them. Of 3,754 Panchayats, around 2,400 Pradhans and 2,600 Deputy Pradhans elected were Congress-aligned, while Congress-backed candidates also prevailed in 29 of the State’s 53 urban local bodies. Notably, Congress swept all six municipal bodies in Kangra without the BJP winning a single one, while reclaiming both the President and Vice-President posts in Chamba’s urban local body after 10 years and in Chuwari’s municipal body after 15 years,” he said.

The Minister added that the BJP-led central government’s policies are not only hampering development work at the Panchayat level but also steadily eroding employment opportunities on the ground. “The effective closure of MGNREGA funding would leave Panchayats starved of resources. The BJP should clarify its position as adequate finances are indispensable for rural development and effective Panchayat functioning,” he said.