The stage is set for the 15th Haryana legislative assembly elections, with 2.03 crore voters ready to cast their ballots on Saturday. The election will see intense contests across the state’s 90 assembly constituencies, with over 1,031 candidates in the fray, including 101 women and 464 independents.
Polling will be held at 20,632 booths from 7 am to 6 pm, with 1,07,75,957 men, 95,77,926 women, and 467 third-gender voters eligible to vote. A total of 1,49,142 voters with disabilities, 2,31,093 voters above 85 years of age, and 8,821 centenarians will also participate in the democratic process.
Results will be announced on October 8, 2024.
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The election is a high-stakes battle for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which seeks a third consecutive term in office, while the opposition Congress hopes for a comeback after a decade. The contests in Haryana’s key constituencies, including Sohna, Julana, Ladwa, Rania, and Uchana Kalan, will determine the fate of prominent leaders and political parties, with new and old faces engaging in fierce political battles.
Sohna: A multi-cornered battle
The Sohna assembly seat, located in the southern part of Haryana, is witnessing a fierce contest this time, as independent candidates are poised to challenge both the BJP and the Congress. BJP’s Tejpal Tanwar, who is seeking re-election after winning in 2014, is facing Congress’s Rohtas Singh Khatana, a candidate with significant influence among Gujjar voters. However, the contest is complicated by the presence of two formidable independents, including a former BJP leader who turned rebel after being denied a party ticket.
Julana: Wrestlers in the political arena
In Haryana’s Julana constituency, a political showdown between two women wrestlers, a professional pilot, and a retired tax official has captured national attention. Olympian Vinesh Phogat, a Congress candidate, has thrown her hat in the ring after retiring from international wrestling. She is up against another wrestler, Kavita Dalal of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), known for being the first Indian woman to compete in the WWE. The Bharatiya Janata Party’s candidate, Yogesh Bairagi, a professional pilot, and the Jannayak Janata Party’s (JJP) sitting MLA Amarjeet Singh Dhanda are also in the fray.
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Vinesh Phogat, campaigning as “Julana ki Bahu” (daughter-in-law), draws on her husband’s local roots, while Kavita Dalal, hailing from a nearby village, seeks to position herself as “Julana ki Beti” (daughter). Julana’s electorate, comprising 40% Jat voters, along with a sizable Scheduled Caste and Backward Class population, is divided by issues of unemployment, infrastructure, and education. The outcome in Julana could indicate whether Phogat’s star power can overcome the well-entrenched local leaders.
Ladwa: A test for the new CM
The small town of Ladwa, part of the Kurukshetra district, has gained significance due to the candidacy of chief minister Nayab Singh Saini. Elevated to the top post earlier this year, Saini, a leader from the OBC Saini community, is contesting his first assembly election from this constituency. He faces stiff competition from Congress’s sitting legislator Mewa Singh, as well as Indian National Lok Dal’s (INLD) Sapna Barshami.
The chief minister’s position as a member of the Saini community, which comprises about 7.5% of Ladwa’s population, may give him an edge. However, the BJP lost here in the 2019 election when Congress’s Mewa Singh secured a victory by a margin of 12,637 votes. Independent candidate Sandeep Garg, a former BJP leader and local industrialist, is also in the race, hoping to eat into BJP’s vote bank.
Uchana Kalan: A clash of dynasty
Uchana Kalan, part of the Jind district, has always been a seat of intense political interest, with a majority Jat population and several political heavyweights vying for dominance. This election is no different, with Congress’s Brijendra Singh, a former BJP MP and the son of veteran leader Birender Singh, going up against the BJP’s Devender Chaturbhuj Attri and JJP leader Dushyant Chautala, who is seeking re-election.
Dushyant, the grandson of Om Prakash Chautala, is considered an outsider in the constituency, hailing originally from Sirsa, but he won the seat in 2019 by defeating BJP’s Prem Lata Singh.
Rania: A family feud and political legacy
In the Bagri-dominated constituency of Rania, a dramatic battle is unfolding as veteran politician Ranjit Singh Chautala, an estranged member of the Chautala family, fights to retain his seat as an independent. Ranjit, the youngest brother of former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala, served as a cabinet minister in the BJP government after winning the 2019 election as an independent and later aligning with the BJP.
However, after his defeat in the 2024 general elections, Ranjit parted ways with the BJP and is once again contesting independently. His grandnephew, Arjun Chautala, representing the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), poses a strong challenge, making this a family feud that could alter the Chautala legacy in Haryana. The Congress has fielded YouTube journalist Sarv Mitter Kamboj, while the JJP has offered tacit support to Ranjit by not fielding its candidate for this seat.
