BJP candidate Devender Chatar Bhuj Attri won the Uchana Kalan seat in Haryana by a margin of just 32 votes, as per the Election Commission. He defeated his nearest rival and Congress candidate and former IAS officer Brijendra Singh. Attri polled 48,968 votes while Congress party's Singh, who is the son of former union minister Birender Singh, secured 48,936 votes.
Meanwhile, Jannayak Janta Party leader Dushyant Chautala, who was the sitting MLA from Uchana seat, was at the fifth spot. He received a total of 7,950 votes. Like Dushyant, his uncle and senior INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala also failed to retain his seat and lost from Ellenabad to Congress' Bharat Singh Beniwal by a margin of 15,000 votes.
Big setback of JJP
The Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), which had emerged as a kingmaker in the last assembly elections, faced a huge defeat this time, while the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) also failed to make a substantial impact. The JJP was unable to secure any seats, a sharp decline from the 10 segments it won in 2019 in the 90-seat assembly. In contrast, the INLD managed to win two seats -- one more than its performance in the previous state elections.
JJP and Chandra Shekhar Azad-led Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) together fought the Haryana polls while INLD contested in alliance with Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). JJP has witnessed a slide in its electoral fortune after it's alliance with the BJP came to an end in March. It became part of the government in Haryana in 2019 by forging a post-poll alliance with BJP, which had fallen six short of majority in 2019.
BJP make a hat-trick in Haryana
Meanwhile, proving wrong predictions of exit polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party achieved its biggest victory in Haryana polls with the Hindi heartland state seemingly turning into one of its bastions. The BJP made a hat-trick and created electoral history in the state. The Congress, which was seen to be having advantage of anti-incumbency and was seen to be ahead in the perception battle, fumbled again and could not pull enough weight to dislodge the saffron party in the state.
(With PTI inputs)
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