The Bhajan Lal family maintained its winning streak in Haryana's Adampur assembly segment as BJP candidate and former chief minister Bhajan Lal's grandson Bhavya Bishnoi on Sunday defeated his nearest rival and Congress nominee Jai Prakash in the by-election to the seat.
The resignation of Bhavya's father Kuldeep Bishnoi necessitated the by-election after he left the Congress and joined the BJP. In a direct electoral contest between the Congress and the BJP, Bhavya defeated Prakash by a margin of 15,740 votes.
The BJP candidate polled 67,492 votes (51.32 per cent), while Prakash secured 51,752 votes (39.35 percent), according to the Election Commission's Voter Helpline app.
INLD candidate Kurda Ram Nambardar got 5,248 votes (3.99 percent), while the AAP's Satender Singh secured 3,420 votes (2.6 percent). Both lost their deposits as they failed to get one-sixth of the votes polled.
After the victory, Kuldeep Bishnoi thanked voters of the Adampur assembly segment.
"It is a victory of (PM) Narendra Modi-ji's policies. It is a victory of Manohar Lal Khattar's working style, it is a victory of the 54-year-long trust of Bhajan Lal family in Adampur," he said.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar also expressed gratitude towards the people of Adampur area for ensuring a 'bhavya' (grand) victory.
"This is the victory of Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji's policies, public trust and hard work of all workers," Khattar tweeted.
Thanking voters of the constituency, Bhavya said, "It is the victory of the leadership of Narendra Modi and Manohar Lal Khattar." He said he was confident of his victory in the bypoll.
Soon after counting of votes began at 8 am, Bhavya secured a lead. In the first round, he secured a margin of 2,832 votes, and in the following rounds, he maintained his lead over the Congress candidate.
The bypolls in the assembly segment in Hisar on November 3 saw a turnout of 76.45 per cent.
After his defeat, Congress nominee Prakash accused the ruling BJP of misusing government machinery to win the election.
Securing 52,000 votes from the Adampur constituency shows the strength of the Congress, he said, adding, "This by-election has made it clear that the Indian National Lok Dal and the Aam Aadmi Party have been wiped out in Haryana."
The Adampur seat has been held by Bhajan Lal’s family since 1968, with the late leader representing it on nine occasions, his wife Jasma Devi once and Kuldeep on four occasions.
Kuldeep Bishnoi had defeated the late Sonali Phogat, who had contested on a BJP ticket from Adampur in the 2019 state assembly elections.
Former Union minister Jai Prakash, a three-time MP from Hisar and two-time MLA was fielded by the Congress.
The INLD had nominated Congress rebel Kurda Ram Nambardar while the AAP had nominated Satender Singh, who switched over from the BJP.
Bhavya's victory comes as a boost for the BJP as its strength in the 90-member Assembly will rise from 40 to 41.
The saffron party enjoys the support of the JJP, which has 10 MLAs, besides six of the seven Independents and the Gopal Kanda-led Haryana Lokhit Party.
The Congress has 30 MLAs in the House, while INLD has one legislator.
The BJP had earlier lost two bypolls to the Ellenabad and Baroda assembly segments.
During campaigning, the BJP had sought votes on the basis of equitable development its government carried out in the state.
The BJP and JJP leaders had targeted the Congress dubbing it a sinking ship and also took potshots at the grand old party over "factionalism" in the state unit.
The defeat of the Congress nominee has come as a setback for Bhupinder Singh Hooda who, along with his son Deepender Hooda, had spearheaded the poll campaign in the Adampur assembly segment.
The Aam Aadmi Party had targeted the BJP and previous governments, accusing them of depriving the citizens of good educational and healthcare facilities.
They had claimed that people of Haryana were looking for a change and AAP could provide that alternative.
AAP national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had launched the party's nationwide 'Make India No. 1' campaign from Hisar.
Twenty-two candidates, all men, were in the fray.