NEW DELHI: Kurukshetra is one of the 10 Lok Sabha (parliamentary) constituencies in Haryana. This constituency covers the entire Kurukshetra and Kaithal districts and part of Yamunanagar district.
In the general elections of 1952, the areas now comprising Kurukshetra district formed part of Karnal Parliamentary constituency. It was then Kaithal Lok Sabha seat and till 1977 its headquarters were also Kaithal.
According to the 2011 census, Kurukshetra had a population of 964,655 of which male and female were 510,976 and 453,679 respectively.
Average literacy rate was 76.31.
Schedule: Date of voting and result
The 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Kurukshetra will be held on 25th May (Phase 6). The counting of votes will be on June 4.
Candidates:
In the Kurukshetra constituency,
Naveen Jindal
, the 54-year-old chairman of Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) and a former two-time Congress MP (2004, 2009), is contesting on a BJP ticket. Jindal lost the 2014 election to the BJP and did not contest in 2019, when BJP’s Nayab Singh Saini, the current CM, secured a victory over Congress’s Nirmal Singh by a margin of more than 3.84 lakh votes.
The Opposition camp in Kurukshetra appears to be encouraged by perceived anti-incumbency and the stance of farm protesters. However, there are concerns about a potential split in the farmer votes between INDIA bloc candidate Sushil Gupta of AAP and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) nominee Abhay Singh Chautala.
While Abhay Chautala poses a challenge for AAP, the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) candidate Pala Ram Saini may impact the BJP’s vote bank, particularly among the Saini community (OBC), which constitutes approximately 8% of the constituency’s population.
Main parties:
The JJP, led by Dushyant Chautala, had been a crucial ally in the BJP-led coalition government in the state until March 12 this year. On that date, the BJP unexpectedly severed ties with the party while replacing Manohar Lal Khattar with Saini as the CM.
Kurukshetra has been at the forefront of the farmers’ protests in Haryana since 2020-21, when the movement against the now-repealed three central farm laws commenced.
In the 2019 elections, Kurukshetra saw 74.32% voter turnout and BJP candidate Nayab Singh won with a victory margin of 3,84,591 votes, securing 6,88,629 votes. Nayab Singh defeated Nirmal Singh of the Congress, who got 3,04,038 votes.
