Lok Sabha Election Results 2024: In a closely contested battle for Haryana’s 10 Lok Sabha seats, the Congress has made substantial gains, wresting five seats from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This change comes as the BJP's vote share has dropped from 58.2 per cent in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls to 46.11 per cent, according to the latest data from the Election Commission. The Congress, on the other hand, has increased its vote share from 28.42 per cent in 2019 to 43.7 per cent.
The Congress's resurgence was evident as it secured victory in five seats, while the BJP retained five seats. Notably, the Congress contested nine seats this time, compared to ten in the previous election. This win for the grand old party comes with over four months to go for the assembly polls.
Smaller parties like the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) faced significant setbacks. The JJP's vote share plummeted to 0.87 per cent from 4.9 per cent in 2019, despite contesting in ten seats. The BSP, contesting nine seats, managed a vote share of 1.27 per cent, while the INLD, contesting seven seats, garnered 1.74 per cent of the votes.
A notable development was the performance of the Congress's I.N.D.I.A. bloc partner, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which contested the Kurukshetra seat but lost to the BJP. AAP's vote share stood at 3.49 per cent, a significant increase from the 0.4 per cent it secured in 2019 when it contested three seats.
Reflecting on the results, a Congress spokesperson remarked, "The increase in our vote share and the number of seats won is a clear indication of the public's growing support for our policies and leadership", as quoted by news agency PTI.
On the other hand, a BJP representative stated, "While we have seen a decline in our vote share, we remain committed to serving the people of Haryana and will analyse these results to understand and address the voters' concerns", PTI reported
Of the nearly 65 per cent of the more than two crore eligible voters in Haryana who exercised their franchise in the May 25 polls, 0.33 per cent opted for the NOTA (None of the Above) option.
Haryana Bypoll: CM Nayab Singh Saini Wins Karnal
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has emerged victorious in the Karnal Assembly bypoll, defeating his Congress rival, Tarlochan Singh, by a margin of 41,540 votes. The Karnal seat was previously held by BJP's Manohar Lal Khattar. In the 2019 Assembly polls, Khattar had defeated Tarlochan Singh by a margin of over 45,000 votes.
The counting of votes for the Karnal assembly seat began at 8 am, coinciding with the vote count for the 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Polling for all 10 Lok Sabha seats and the Karnal assembly constituency took place on May 25, during the sixth phase of the general election.
Nayab Singh Saini, who is the outgoing MP from Kurukshetra and the state BJP chief, was sworn in as the Chief Minister on March 12. His ascension to the role followed Manohar Lal Khattar's resignation as MLA from Karnal, which necessitated the by-election. Khattar is currently leading from the Karnal parliamentary seat by a margin of more than 2.3 lakh votes.