In a press conference, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukvinder Singh Sukhu refuted the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) claims of a decisive victory in the recent urban local body elections, asserting that Congress emerged as the leading party with 29 wins out of 53 contests. Sukhu stated that the BJP's portrayal of the results was misleading, emphasizing that local issues and individual candidate popularity played significant roles in the outcomes. He pointed out that Congress performed particularly well in districts such as Kangra, where it won all seven elections. Additionally, Sukhu noted the party's success in rural elections, with nearly 2,300 Congress-backed candidates elected. He dismissed the BJP's analogy of the elections as a 'semi-final' for future Assembly polls, arguing that local elections should not be equated with state-level contests. Furthermore, Sukhu announced that a new Chief Secretary would be appointed soon, following the retirement of Sanjay Gupta, and urged the BJP to accept the election results as they are.