The BJP surged ahead in the Dharamsala Municipal Corporation elections on Jattvibeday, winning six of the first eight wards for which results were declared, while the Congress secured two seats.Among the prominent winners was outgoing Congress Mayor Neenu Sharma, who retained her ward and emerged as one of the party’s key successes in the civic polls. However, the Congress faced setbacks in several other wards as BJP candidates secured comfortable victories.The election also witnessed defeats for two prominent former BJP leaders who had entered the fray as Independents after being denied party tickets. Former Mayor Onkar Chand Nehria lost from his ward Bhagsunag, while former Deputy Mayor Tajinder Kaur also failed to secure a victory from Kotwali Bazar.The BJP’s strong showing in the initial rounds of counting has placed the party in a commanding position in the race for control of the municipal corporation. Party workers celebrated the early lead, expressing confidence that the BJP would secure a majority in the 17-member civic body.Political attention has been firmly focused on Dharamsala, considered the home turf of BJP MLA Sudhir Sharma. A former Congress minister, Sharma switched to the BJP in 2024 and has since been locked in a bitter political rivalry with Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. As a result, the municipal corporation election came to be viewed as a battle of prestige between the two camps.The BJP’s strong performance in the initial rounds of counting is seen as a significant boost for Sharma, who campaigned extensively for the party candidates. The outcome is also politically significant as Dharamsala has remained one of the key centres of the ongoing tussle between the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP in the state.