Haryana Assembly polls results: BJP with 40 seats, sees bigwigs stumble, Congress distant second; JJP's Dushyant Chautala eyes kingmaker's role

Rohtak: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) failed to achieve a clear majority in the Haryana elections on Thursday with a host of members in the cabinet of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar losing their seats, including Finance Minister Captain Abhimanyu, agriculture minister Om Prakash Dhankhar and BJP state unit chief Subhash Barala. [caption id=“attachment_7551081” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  BJP’s Leela Ram poses after winning the Kaithal seat. Sat Singh[/caption] The BJP won 39 seats and was leading in 1 as per 8.30 pm, making it the single-largest party in the 90-member Assembly; 46 seats are required for a majority in the Assembly. Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who has had a hot and cold relationship with high command after the Gandhi family was reluctant to give him the state’s leadership, retained his seat from Garhi-Sampla-Kiloi as the state Congress won 31 seats. The Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) won 10 seats and independent candidates won seven seats. In the Jat heartland, Congress won all four seats in Jhajjar district and three in Rohtak district. In the Sonipat district, Congress lost Ganaur but won four other seats.  Sportsman Yogeshwar Dutt, who was contesting from Baroda, lost to Congress’ Sri Krishan Hooda, while international wrestler Babita Phogat also lost from Dadri. Both were contesting on BJP tickets. Senior Congress leader Kuldeep Bishnoi defeated BJP candidate and TikTok star Sonali Phogat from his stronghold Adampur Assembly constituency in Haryana’s Hisar district. Bishnoi, the younger son of former chief minister Bhajan Lal, defeated Phogat by 29,471 votes. However, All India Congress Committee spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, a trusted man of Rahul Gandhi, lost from Kaithal. BJP state president Subhash Barala, who lost from Tohana Assembly segment to JJP candidate Devinder Babli, was reported to have tendered his resignation in the afternoon. However, in a later conversation with ANI he clarified it was just a rumour. [caption id=“attachment_7551091” align=“alignright” width=“380”]  The Congress celebrating its victory in Rohtak seat, Sat Singh[/caption] The vote share of the Congress, which emerged stronger than the last polls but is still behind the BJP, is almost the same as the Lok Sabha polls. The party got 28.42 percent of the votes polled in the Lok Sabha election, while in the Assembly polls, it has secured 28.13 percent and 31 seats. Hooda said the mandate of people is against the BJP and hence all other parties—including the JJP, BSP, INLD and independents—should come together. Hooda said as chairman of Congress party’s Election Management Committee, he assured all parties that they will be given due respect in a coalition government . He said the fact that ministers of the Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP government lost shows that the public doesn’t want BJP to retain power. Hooda said it would be “unethical and immoral” for the BJP to stake a claim to form the government under the circumstances. Kingmaker Dushyant Chautala? Jannayak Janta Party leader Dushyant Chautala, whose party got 10 seats after being formed just 10 months ago, remained non-committal on supporting the BJP or the Congress. “There was huge anti-incumbency against the Khattar government,” Chautala, who is eyeing the kingmaker’s role, commented. [caption id=“attachment_7551111” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  JJP leader Dushyant Chautala praying before the start of counting. Sat Singh[/caption] The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) won just one seat of Ellenabad where Abhay Singh Chautala is the incumbent legislator. Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP) president Gopal Kanda registered a win from Sirsa. In the 2014 Assembly polls, the BJP won 47 seats. It won the Jind bypoll earlier this year, taking the total strength to 48. The INLD had 19 MLAs while the Congress had 17 legislators. The author is a Rohtak-based freelance journalist and member of 101Reporters.com