Haryana Assembly Elections 2024 | Five debutants who sealed victories

Bucking anti-incumbency, the ruling BJP pulled off a hat-trick of wins in Haryana to retain power and halt Congress' comeback attempt in the assembly elections, results of which were announced Tuesday.

While the BJP ended up with its best-ever haul of 48 seats, 11 more than the Congress, parties like the JJP and the AAP were decimated and the INLD managed to win just two seats. AAP had contested on its own.

Proving wrong exit polls which predicted a comfortable Congress win, the BJP will be forming government in Haryana for the third consecutive term.

Here we take a look at the newbies of politics, who won the elections in Haryana.

Vinesh Phogat

Vinesh Phogat, the sports icon who became the fierce face of an anti-sexual harassment protest and retired from wrestling after a shock end to her medal campaign at the Paris Olympics, contested on a Congress ticket from Julana. Phogat defeated Kumar by a margin of 6,015 votes.

Aditya Surjewala

Aditya Surjewala, a third-generation political aspirant, is the son of Congress Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Surjewala. He contested from Kaithal Assembly seat. Aditya is the grandson of Congress' Shamsher Singh Surjewala, who represented Kaithal multiple times in the Assembly. He received a total of 83,744 votes.

BJP's Leela Ram, who finished on the second spot in Kaithal, managed to garner 75,629 votes. Surjewala won by a comfortable margin of 8,124 votes.

Pooja Chaudhary

Pooja Chaudhary, who entered the fray from Mulana (SC) seat, is the wife of incumbent Lok Sabha MP from Ambala, Varun Chaudhary. Varun had won the Mulana assembly seat in the 2019 state polls but vacated the seat after becoming the MP.

38-year old Pooja Chaudharyemerged victorious in the Mulana assembly seat in Haryana, defeating BJP's sitting MLA, Santosh Chauhan Sarwan, by a margin of 79,089 votes.

Arti Rao Singh

BJP fielded Arti Rao Singh, daughter of Gurgaon MP Rao Inderjit Singh, who made her electoral debut against former Congress MLA Anita Yadav and 2019 runner-up Thakur Attar Lal of the BSP, from Ateli Assembly constituency. Arti Singh Rao polled 57737 votes compared to Attar Lal's 54652.

Dr Krishan Kumar

Dr Krishan Kumar, the BJP's pick for the Awal seat is the oldest among all poll debutants. Krishan Kumar took retirement as director of health services (DHS) to contest elections. He defeated INC's Dr M L Ranga polling 86858 votes compared to Ranga's 66847.

With PTI inputs

Assembly Elections 2024 | In the first assembly polls since the Lok Sabha elections, Narendra Modi and the BJP face a rejuvenated and vindicated Opposition in the Haryana assembly polls. Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir is voting after almost a decade and it remains to be seen how the abrogation of Article 370 has impacted the political landscape of the Valley. Track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.