Shimla, May 19 -- The proverb "success has many fathers, failure has none" rings true for the ongoing political claims in Himachal Pradesh following the results of the 47 urban local body (ULB) elections. Both the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP asserted that the outcome reflects public support for their respective positions ahead of the 2027 assembly elections. Even though the elections to 25 municipal councils and 22 nagar panchayats were not fought on official party symbols, leaders from both sides claimed that candidates they backed secured victories across the state. The results for the 47 ULBs were declared on the same day as polling, while the results for four major municipal corporations - Shimla, Dharamshala, Mandi and Solan - will be announced on May 31. Congress leaders described the outcome as a strong endorsement of the state government. The BJP, however, termed it a rejection of the Congress administration over issues, including inflation, unemployment, and governance. Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said, "Congress-backed candidates won in 32 out of 47 municipal bodies, proving that people have full faith in the policies and welfare programmes of the state government." He accused the BJP of promoting division in society on the basis of religion and caste. "The Congress has fulfilled all the promises made during the 2022 assembly elections," he claimed. Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee organisation secretary Vinod Zinta described the outcome as a "semi-final" ahead of the 2027 elections. "The results show public approval of the Congress government's policies and governance," Zinta said. State Congress president Vinay Kumar echoed this view, stating that the people of the state endorsed the ruling party through their overwhelming support in the ULB polls. Kumar said people rejected the BJP and exposed its politics of deceit. State BJP president Rajeev Bindal told reporters that the party's victory reflects a public referendum against the failures, false guarantees, and anti-people policies of the Congress government. Bindal said BJP-supported candidates took a lead in 18 out of 25 municipal councils and 12 out of 22 nagar panchayats. "The biggest irony is that the Congress party, which did not even release an official list of its candidates during the elections, is now claiming victory," he said. According to Bindal, the BJP won 120 out of the total 229 seats in the 25 municipal councils, while Congress secured 89 seats and others won 20. Leader of the opposition and former chief minister Jai Ram Thakur said Sukhu changed his tone to claim victory only after BJP-supported candidates won in large numbers. "The CM's situation has come to resemble that of (former West Bengal chief minister) Mamata 'Didi'. The people of the state have rejected him," Thakur said. He said the election results should be respected and cautioned that councillors should not come under government pressure....