The Congress fell short of the majority mark in Haryana by nine seats, winning 37 seats in the 90-member Assembly. On as many as 16 seats, however, Independents or Congress rebels may have played a role in its defeat.
In 15 seats in the Haryana elections, an Independent candidate ended up third, winning more votes than the margin of defeat. The BJP won 12 of these seats, with the Congress in second position, while the Congress won two of them. In one seat, the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) pipped the Congress.
Among the 12 seats the Congress lost to the BJP, three had Congress rebels in the third position as Independents. Apart from these, the Congress lost four more seats where rebels either won or stood second.
Thus, in as many as seven seats, the Congress may have suffered defeat due to its own rebels being in the fray, while in nine others, Independents queered the pitch enough to push it behind the BJP.
The data is telling of the way the Congress failed to rein in factionalism within the party, bungled ticket distribution and was unable to quell rebellion within its ranks.
In the Ambala Cantt seat, the Congress stood third, with the BJP’s Anil Vij winning by over 7,000 votes. In second position was Independent Chitra Sarwara, the daughter of Congress leader Nirmal Singh Mohra, who won from Ambala City. Sarwara had wanted a Congress ticket but was denied as the party decided not to give two tickets in the same family. Sarwara secured more than 52,000 votes against the Congress’s 14,000-odd votes.
Similarly, in Bahadurgarh, Congress rebel Rajesh Joon won, relegating sitting Congress MLA Rajendra Joon to third place. Rajesh Joon had announced he would contest as an Independent soon after the Congress announced its first list for Haryana in early September, saying he felt cheated by the party. In 2019 too, he had to withdraw his nomination on the party’s request. Following his rebellion, the Congress suspended him for six years for anti-party activities. A day after his victory, on Wednesday, Rajesh Joon joined the BJP.
In Ballabgarh, Congress rebel Sharda Rathore relegated party candidate Parag Sharma to the fourth spot. The seat was won by the BJP’s Moolchand Sharma. While Sharma secured over 61,000 votes, Rathore cornered just under 45,000 votes and fell behind Sharma. In third position was Independent Rao Ram Kumar, who secured 23,000 votes.
Rathore had last won Ballabgarh on a Congress ticket in 2009. In 2018, she quit the Congress to join the BJP. But when she did not get a ticket in the 2019 polls, she returned to the Congress. She was speculated to get a ticket from the seat, but the party chose Parag Sharma, who got less than 8,700 votes.
In Pundri, Congress rebel Satbir Bhana relegated Congress candidate Sultan Jadaula to third position by securing over 40,000 votes and losing to the BJP by just over 2,000 votes. Bhana had contested on a Congress ticket in the 2019 polls but lost. He was denied a ticket this time and turned rebel. He was expelled from the party after announcing he would contest as an Independent.
In Uchana Kalan, the Congress lost to the BJP by a mere 32 votes. In third position, with over 31,000 votes, was Congress rebel Virender Ghogharian. He was suspended from the party after he announced his candidature as an Independent following the denial of ticket. The Congress had fielded former Union minister Birendra Singh’s son Brijendra from the constituency.
In Badhra, the Congress lost to the BJP by just over 7,500 votes. Congress rebel Somveer Ghasola, who contested as an Independent following a ticket denial, stood third with over 26,000 votes. Ghasola had been expelled from the party just ahead of the polls.
In Gohana too, Congress candidate Jagbir Singh Malik lost by over 10,000 votes to the BJP with Congress rebel Harsh Chhikara securing the third spot with 14,000 votes. Chhikara contested as an Independent after being denied a ticket.
The BJP too faced rebellion and lost at least two seats to rebels. In Prithla, BJP rebel Nayanpal Rawat secured over 22,000 votes and secured third position. The BJP lost to the Congress by just 20,000 votes. Similarly, in Kalayat, BJP rebel Anita Dhull secured over 25,000 votes, helping the Congress win the seat by a margin of 13,000 votes.
Independents played a part in spoiling the party for the Congress in seats such as Dadri, Hodal, Kalka, Mahendragarh, Rai, Safidon, Samalkha, Sohna and Tosham, where they secured more votes than the Congress’s margin of defeat.
In Hodal, where Congress state president Udai Bhan lost to the BJP’s Harinder Singh by under 2,595 votes, two Independents trailing Bhan together polled 2,623 votes.
In Rania, BJP rebel Ranjit Singh, who is the brother of former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, contested as an Independent. He had won the constituency in 2019 as an Independent and then joined the BJP government. Singh secured more than 36,000 votes and placed third. The seat was won by the INLD’s Arjun Chautala with over 43,000 votes. The BJP came fourth with 15,000 votes.
The Assembly polls in Haryana this year were marked by an unprecedented number of Independents filing nominations. Almost all seats in the state had three to four Independent candidates apart from various state and registered but unrecognised parties in the fray. This turned what was essentially a bipolar contest between the Congress and BJP into a multipolar one in parts of the state.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which the Congress refused to ally with for these polls, adversely impacted at least one seat for the Congress. In Adampur, the AAP secured more than 1,800 votes with the Congress losing the seat by just over 1,200 votes.
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