Sudha Bhardwaj named Mayor candidate in Panchkula

April 19, 2026

Regarding the municipal elections in Haryana, Congress has announced its candidates for the Panchkula mayoral post. Congress has declared Sudha Bhardwaj, former state president of the Women’s Wing from Panchkula, as the candidate. Sudha Bhardwaj is the wife of Congress leader Sanjeev Bhardwaj.

In Panchkula, the party mainly had only two names. In Congress, former municipal council president Ravindra Rawal was seeking the ticket from the Punjabi community, and Sudha Bhardwaj was seeking the ticket from the Brahmin community. Raval’s community had about 50,000 voters, while Sudha’s community votes were about 15,000. But Sudha received support from Congress MLA Chandramohan, which made her path easier.

In the Congress election committee meeting, state president Rao Narendra informed that 12 applications have been received for tickets. When all the names were read, Chandramohan suddenly stood up and opposed the name of Ravindra Rawal. Chandramohan said that Rawal has been issued a notice by the party, so he should not be discussed. After that, when the leaders present in the meeting asked him for a name, he proposed the name of Sudha Bharadwaj. Then, when Sirsa MP Kumari Selja was asked, she also expressed her agreement with Chandramohan’s choice.

When a discussion was held with the district committee, consensus was expressed in favor of Ravindra Rawal, citing the number of votes from the Punjabi community, but Sudha Bharadwaj was also not opposed. After that, CLP leader Bhupender Singh Hooda also endorsed the name of Ravindra Rawal. However, as a common consensus could not be reached, the matter stalled. But in the end, giving preference to Panchkula Congress MLA Chandramohan, the Congress has declared Sudha Bharadwaj’s ticket.

Sudha Bhardwaj has been the state president of women.

Sudha Bhardwaj has been the senior vice president in Congress. After that, when the position became vacant, she was made the working president. She is the wife of Sanjeev Bhardwaj, who is currently working as the media in-charge in the state Congress. Bhardwaj was the HPCC secretary in 2004, left the party in 2005, and joined the party again in 2016. The family is considered to be part of the anti-Hooda faction. Sudha has also been active in Brijendra Singh’s campaign.