Independent candidates won 21 out of 35 wards in the Municipal Corporation election in Gurugram on Sunday while the Bharatiya Janata Party bagged only 13 seats, PTI reported. The Indian National Lok Dal won in one ward.

The BJP had contested in all 35 wards. After the party’s loss, Haryana Public Works Minister Rao Narbir Singh said many victorious independent candidates would support the BJP to form the next administration.

The party’s Haryana spokesperson, Raman Malik, claimed that most of the Independents had earlier approached the BJP for a ticket. “Most of the people who have won were asking us for tickets. They were in the list of aspirants,” he told The Indian Express. “We could only give tickets to 35 people. But some of the independent candidates are from within our fold itself.”

The Congress did not contest the elections. Three of the victorious Independent candidates were backed by the Congress, and two by the Indian National Lok Dal. Haryana Congress chief Ashok Tanwar said, “The results are a clear indication that if the Congress had contested on its symbol, the party would have won 25 to 30 seats.”