ROTHAK, May 14 -- The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) continues to strengthened its dominance in Haryana's urban politics by registering impressive victories in the civic polls of Sonepat, Rewari, Dharuhera and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda's strong hold of Sampla. In Sampla, BJP candidate Praveen claimed the chairman's post by 687 votes, defeating Independent candidate Ankit. Though the Congress opted not to field an official candidate, the result serves as a direct setback to Hooda's local influence, particularly after he urged voters to consolidate behind any candidate capable of defeating the BJP. The Sampla victory, bolstered by high-profile campaigning from chief minister Nayab Singh Saini and other senior BJP leaders, has provided a morale boost to the ruling party amid the broader landscape of the state's local body elections. The saffron party's victory in Sonepat municipal corporation is also a setback to the Congress as BJP's mayoral candidate Rajiv Jain has defeated Congress' Kamal Dewan by a margin of 23,247 votes. Besides, the BJP candidates also won 17 out of the 22 wards, as the Congress candidates could win only five wards. The BJP also emerged victorious in the Rewari municipal council as its candidate for the president's post Vinita Pipal has defeated Congress' Neharika by a margin of 21,455 votes as the Congress candidate could take only 23,066 votes against Vinita's 44,521 votes. However, in Rewari the BJP failed to impress voters in several wards as out of 32 wards BJP could win only 12 wards while Independents won 19 wards and congress won only one ward. Similarly, BJP's Satyanarayan defeated Independent Babu Lal Lamba by a margin of 6,236 votes to win the post of president of Daurhera municipal committee. Interestingly, Congress's Kumari Raj got only 1,817 votes and remained at the third position. The Independents won election of councilors from all 18 wards as neither the BJP nor the Congress fielded candidates on party symbols in wards. In one of the biggest surprises of Haryana's civic body elections, 23-year-old Independent candidate Rima Soni stormed to victory in the Uklana Mandi municipal committee chairperson election and defeated ruling BJP's Nikita Goel by a margin of 2,806 votes. Rima took a lead in 12 out of 16 wards. Since Congress did not field its candidate and the party indirectly backed Rima, who was locked in a straight fight with BJP's Nikita. She has got 7,078 votes. Reacting to her victory, Rima, who has done her graduation, described herself as "the daughter of a poor family" and thanked the people of Uklana for their trust. She said the mandate had shown that "a 23-year-old girl can also lead, fight elections and win people's confidence". She also thanked the voters of Uklana and vowed to fulfill her election promises Even the victory also carried deep emotional significance for the Rima's family as her father Mahender Soni, known as a grassroots politician associated with INLD and later the Congress, had lost the previous municipal election from Uklana by a narrow margin of around 419 votes. Family members said that Mahender's strategy helped Rima to impress the voters. This is despite the BJP had led an aggressive campaign in Uklana, with chief minister Nayab Singh Saini and several cabinet ministers canvassing for Nikita Goyal. Rima ran an energetic campaign focused on development, youth participation and direct public engagement. She also used social media as an impressive tool to target the young voters and the women. Soon after the victory INLD leader Abhay Chautala congratulated her over video call. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday thanked voters in Haryana after the BJP delivered a strong performance in the municipal elections, saying the mandate reflects public faith in the party's development agenda and the "double-engine government" model in the state. In a post on X, PM Modi expressed gratitude to voters and credited BJP workers for the victory. "My deepest gratitude to my family members in the state... this victory is a symbol of the trust that the people of Haryana have in the state's double-engine government," PM Modi wrote. Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini also welcomed the results and expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister for his leadership. In a post on X, Saini said the result reflects public trust in the BJP's governance and welfare policies....