The Aryavarth Express
Agency (Haryana): The Congress made significant inroads in Haryana, winning three seats and heading towards victory in two more during the assembly bypolls, reducing the BJP’s tally from ten to five seats. This shift comes as Haryana prepares for state assembly elections later this year.
Kumari Selja (Sirsa) and Deepender Singh Hooda (Rohtak) were among the prominent Congress winners. Selja registered a big win, and Hooda was set for an emphatic victory, as per the latest Election Commission data. Former Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, representing the BJP, was also headed for a substantial win in Karnal.
The Congress and BJP each appeared set to win five seats. In the 2019 elections, the BJP had won all ten Lok Sabha seats in the state. Meanwhile, candidates from JJP, INLD, and BSP faced severe losses, with many losing their security deposits.
In the Karnal assembly constituency bypoll, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini was poised to win by a large margin, leading by 41,540 votes over Congress nominee Tarlochan Singh. Saini replaced Khattar as chief minister in March, just before the Lok Sabha polls were announced.
Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda expressed confidence that the Congress’s performance in the Lok Sabha polls would positively influence the upcoming Vidhan Sabha elections in October. He cited issues like farmers’ distress, the Agnipath scheme, unemployment, law and order, and inflation as key areas where the BJP failed to deliver.
This election, Congress fielded candidates for nine seats while its INDIA bloc ally, AAP, contested the Kurukshetra seat. Congress won Sirsa, Hisar, and Sonipat, and led in Ambala and Rohtak. The BJP was set to win in Karnal, Bhiwani-Mahendragarh, Gurgaon, Kurukshetra, and Faridabad. The BJP’s vote share in Haryana dropped from over 58% in 2019 to over 46%, while Congress saw an increase from 28.42% to 43.68%.
Rao Inderjit Singh, a Union Minister and sitting MP, managed to retain his Gurgaon seat despite initial setbacks. Singh led by over 73,000 votes against Congress rival Raj Babbar. Khattar was set for a comfortable win in Karnal with an unassailable lead of 2,25,754 votes over Congress’s Divyanshu Budhiraja.
Kumari Selja defeated her BJP rival Ashok Tanwar by 2,68,497 votes. In Hisar, Congress’s former MP Jai Prakash defeated BJP’s Ranjit Chautala by 63,381 votes. Deepender Singh Hooda was on track for the highest victory margin in the state, leading by 3,42,834 votes over sitting BJP MP Arvind Sharma in Rohtak.
Reacting to his Karnal assembly seat performance, Chief Minister Saini said, “This is a victory of the people of Haryana.” He also thanked the people for participating in the democratic process and supporting the policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.
Bhupinder Hooda noted a “wave in favor of the Congress,” citing the BJP’s controversial Agniveer scheme, unaddressed farmers’ issues, and the treatment of female wrestlers protesting in Delhi as contributing factors.
In Sonipat, Congress’s Satpal Brahmachari defeated BJP’s Mohan Lal Badoli by 21,816 votes. In Ambala, Congress’s Varun Chaudhary led by 47,060 votes over BJP’s Banto Kataria. Union Minister Krishan Pal Gurjar from Faridabad led by 1,72,914 votes over Congress’s Mahender Pratap Singh. BJP’s Naveen Jindal in Kurukshetra was set to win over AAP’s Sushil Gupta by 29,021 votes. INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala trailed in Kurukshetra, along with his party candidates in other constituencies.
The counting of votes began at 8 am amid tight security at 91 counting centers.