A look at Haryana’s 40 first-time MLAs

Shruti Choudhry, 49
Defeated Congress’ Anirudh Chaudhary in Tosham
A law graduate, Shruti is the granddaughter of former Haryana CM Bansi Lal. Her mother Kiran Choudhry was elected from Tosham four times and has been a minister in both Congress governments led by Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Shruti along with her mother had left Congress a few months ahead of the October Assembly polls after differences with Hooda. She has been assigned irrigation and water resources and women and child development portfolios in the Nayab Singh Saini cabinet. Carrying forward the legacy of her grandfather would be her challenge.

Arti Singh Rao, 49
Defeated BSP’s Attar Lal from Ateli
Arti has been a national skeet shooting champion for a record 15 times and was appointed as the president of the Haryana Para Sports Association last year. Her father Rao Inderjit Singh, a former Rewari royal, joined the BJP ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and has been a prominent face in south Haryana, a region that has significantly contributed to the party’s victories since 2014. Arti won by a narrow margin of just 3,085 votes and she has been allotted health and medical education and research portfolios. Her challenge would be to further strengthen her grip over south Haryana particularly Ahirwal.

Gaurav Gautam, 36
Defeated Congress Karan Singh Dalal from Palwal
Gautam, the youngest minister in Saini’s cabinet, had ousted Dalal by a margin of over 33,000 votes. A five-time MLA, Dalal, who is from the Brahmin community and is close to former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, had won from Palwal in 1991, 1996, 2000, 2005 and 2014. He is one of the two MoS in the state cabinet and has been given youth empowerment, sports, and will also assist with Law and Legislative matters.

Arvind Kumar Sharma, 62
Defeated Congress’ Jagbir Singh Malik from Gohana
He has been elected to the Lok Sabha four times but this is his first entry into the Assembly.He had made headlines when he defeated Hooda’s son Deepender Singh Hooda in 2019 Lok Sabha polls. For Sharma, BJP is his fourth political party that fielded him. Before this, he has been associated with Shiv Sena, Congress and BSP. However, he won his first Lok Sabha election from Sonipat as an independent in 1996.

Shakti Rani Sharma, 71
Defeated Congress’ Pardeep Chaudhary from Kalka
The wife of former Union Minister and Haryana Janchetna Party founder Venod Sharma, Shakti Rani won by a margin of over 10,000 votes. In 2020, she was elected mayor of Ambala, defeating BJP’s Vandana Sharma. Her son Kartikeya is a media baron and is a Rajya Sabha MP. Belonging to the Brahmin community, Rani’s family is quite close to the senior BJP leadership.

Sunil Satpal Sangwan, 50
Defeated Congress’ Manisha Sangwan from Dadri
Sunil, son of former minister Satpal Sangwan, had sought voluntary retirement from the prisons department after serving it for 22 years just ahead of the Assembly polls. A day later he was inducted into the BJP and was given a ticket to contest from Dadri. Like Sunil, his father too had entered politics after resigning from the post of SDO in the telecoms department in 1996.

Randhir Panihar, 59
Defeated Congress’ Anil Mann from Nalwa
Panihar has been a close associate of former CM Bhajan Lal’s son Kuldeep Bishnoi since long. It’s believed that the closeness got him the ticket and the party had to shift its sitting MLA Ranbir Gangwa to Barwala. In 2019, Panihar had contested from Nalwa as a Congress candidate but lost to then BJP candidate Gangwa.

Devender Chatar Bhuj Attri, 44
Defeated Congress’ Brijendra Singh from Uchana Kalan
A Brahmin, BJP fielded Attri to take on former MP Brijendra Singh and former deputy CM Dushyant Chautala – both Jats — and he defeated both. But his victory was by a margin of just 38 votes – the lowest this time. Outgoing MLA Chautala even lost his security deposit.

Kapoor Singh, 45
Defeated Congress’ Pradeep Narwal from Bawani Khera
BJP had won Bawani Khera seat in 2014 and 2019 too but this time the party replaced its sitting MLA Bishamber Singh with new face Kapoor Singh. In his poll affidavit, Kapoor Singh mentioned that he is an outlet fitting worker and his monthly income is just Rs 8,000. He defeated Narwal by nearly 22,000 votes despite Priyanka Gandhi Vadra herself campaigning for Narwal.

Pawan Kharkhoda, 44
Defeated Congress’ Jaiveer Singh from Kharkhoda
A graduate, Pawan was earlier with JJP and the party had fielded him for the 2019 assembly polls from Kharkhoda but he lost. In June this year, he joined the BJP and won from the seat. His win came as a surprise to many as the seat has been a Hooda bastion.

Satpal Jamba, 44
Defeated Independent candidate Satbir Bhana from Pundri
A businessman, Jamba had declared assets of over Rs 16 crore along with liabilities of Rs 97 lakh for his poll affidavit. Not only the BJP won this seat for the first time but also broke a six-election streak in which the independent candidates have been winning the seat since 1996.

Umed Singh, 52
Defeated Congress’ Somvir Singh from Badhra
An ex-serviceman from the Indian Navy, Umed is a businessman and agriculturist. He defeated Somvir by a margin of 7,585 votes. In 2019, JJP candidate Naina Chautala, mother of former deputy CM Dushyant Chautala, had won from this seat. This time, she did not contest and the party fielded Yashvir, who secured just 1321 votes.

Nikhil Madan, 34
Defeated Congress’ Surender Panwar from Sonipat
Madan was elected Sonipat mayor on Congress ticket when he was 31. However, in July this year, he joined the BJP. He was considered close to Hooda and his candidature from the BJP had led to resentment among a few ticket aspirants. After the announcement of his candidature, former minister Kavita Jain had even cried in front of her supporters.

Manmohan Bhadana, 43
Defeated Congress’ Dharam Singh Chhoker from Samalkha
Son of former minister Kartar Singh Bhadana, Manmohan had contested from Samalkha on BSP ticket in 2009 but lost. With his win, it’s the first time that BJP won from the seat. The seat was considered a Congress stronghold with the grand old party winning it five times in 13 elections. However, this time Manmohan defeated Chhoker by a margin of 19,315 votes.

Satish Kumar Phagna, 49
Defeated Congress’ Neeraj Sharma from Faridabad NIT
Phagana was active in politics since 1994 when his father Jile Singh became a councillor for Faridabad Municipal Corporation. Phagana joined the BJP in 2013. This is the first time that BJP won from Faridabad NIT. It’s believed that the candidature of Bhadana and Ali hit the prospects of Sharma.

Kanwar Singh Yadav, 64
Defeated Congress’ Rao Dan Singh from Mahendragarh
A businessman, Yadav, who has been Mahendragarh district president of BJP earlier, is considered close to Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar. To field Yadav from Mahendragarh, the BJP denied ticket to two-time party state president Ram Bilas Sharma. It was for the first time in the past 42 years, when the party did not field Sharma from this seat.

Harinder Singh, 55
Defeated Congress’ Udai Bhan from Hodal
Son of former MLA Ram Rattan, Harinder Singh had declared assets of Rs 24 crore along with liabilities of Rs 24 lakh. He defeated Haryana Congress president and four-time MLA Udai Bhan by a margin of 2,595 votes. For Harinder’s poll campaign, bollywood actress and BJP MP from Mathura, Hema Malini had come for a roadshow.

Anil Yadav, 47
Defeated Congress’ Jagdish Yadav from Kosli
In political circles, Yadav is known as a loyalist of Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh. He defeated Congress candidate and former minister Jagdish Yadav by a margin of 17,160 votes. A graduate, Yadav had declared assets of Rs 68 crore along with liabilities of Rs 8.5 crore.

Dr Krishan Kumar, 55
Defeated Congress’ Dr ML Ranga from Bawal
He has been working in the Haryana health department since 1993 and has worked as a Chief Medical Officer (CM) in different districts. When he left the department three months ago, he was working in the rank of director in the department. He is considered close to Rao Inderjit Singh. The BJP had fielded him from Bawal in place of a two-time MLA and a minister of previous Saini government, Dr Banwari Lal.

Dhanesh Adlakha, 49
Defeated Congress’ Vijay Pratap Singh from Badkhal
To field Adlakha from Badkhal, the BJP denied ticket to sitting MLA and then school education minister Seema Trikha, who had defeated the Congress candidates Vijay Pratap Singh and Mahendra Pratap Singh there in the 2019 and 2014 polls, respectively. In his election affidavit, Adlakha declared assets of Rs 25.51 crore along with liabilities of Rs 10.34 crore.

Yoginder Singh Rana, 62
Defeated Congress’ Shamsher Singh Gogi from Assandh
BJP’s Karnal district president, Rana is a prominent face of the Rajput community in Assandh. Like the three previous elections, this time too Assandh witnessed a close fight in which Rana defeated Congress’s Shamsher Singh Gogi by a margin of 2,306 votes. After the poll debacle, Gogi had accused a section of Congressmen for his defeat.

Jagmohan Anand, 54
Defeated Congress’ Sumita Virk from Karnal
A Punjabi face, Anand has been media coordinator to fromer CM Manohar Lal Khattar. Anand is a newcomer to the electoral contests but has been managing the election campaigns of the BJP candidates for the past 10 years, including being the acting in-charge of the Kurukshetra Lok Sabha constituency in 2014.

Mukesh Sharma, 44
Defeated Independent candidate Naveen Goyal from Gurgaon
Sharma has been associated with the BJP for nearly 25 years. Before winning this election, Sharma had lost two poll battles. He had contested as a BJP candidate from Badshahpur seat in 2009 and as an independent from Badshahpur in 2014. In his poll affidavit, he identified himself as a social worker and declared assets of Rs 1.29 crore.

INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS: 13

Vinesh Phogat, 30
Defeated BJP’s Yogesh Bairagi from Julana
Olympian wrestler Vinesh contested her maiden political contest and became first ever woman MLA from Julana. She received criticism for remaining absent throughout the winter session of Haryana Vidhan Sabha. She only attended the first sitting when all the MLAs were administered oath.

Gokul Setia, 35
Defeated Haryana Lokhit Party’s Gopal Kanda from Sirsa
Gokul Setia had been active in politics since his student days. Ahead of the assembly polls, BJP’s Rohtash Jangra withdrew his nomination in an apparent support to HLP’s Gopal Kanda. However, Setia managed to defeat Kanda despite Sirsa being considered the former’s stronghold. He raised many eyebrows when he praised Saini at the foundation stone laying ceremony of a medical college in Sirsa.

Mandeep Singh Chatha, 51
Defeated BJP’s Jai Bhagwan Sharma from Pehowa
It was Mandeep’s third attempt from Pehowa. He had lost in 2014 and 2019 to then INLD’s Jaswinder Singh Sandhu and to BJP’s Sandeep Singh, respectively. His father, Harmohinder Singh Chatha, has served as Speaker of Haryana Vidhan Sabha and also a minister.

Aditya Surjewala, 25
Defeated BJP’s Leela Ram Gurjar from Kaithal
Son of Congress’ Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Singh Surjewala, Aditya is the youngest of all the MLAs in the 90-member Assembly. It was only last year that Aditya finished his graduation in Canada. He actively participated in the recently concluded winter session, moved Calling attention motions and even made significant suggestions on several Bills that came up for discussion on floor of the House.

Chander Parkash, 66
Defeated BJP’s Bhavya Bishnoi from Adampur
Nephew of ex-MP Ramji Lal, Chander Parkash is a former IAS officer. In his first political contest, he created history by defeating former CM Bhajan Lal’s grandson Bhavya Bishnoi in Bishnoi family’s citadel. Bhajan Lal’s family had never lost any election in Adampur since 1972. Chander Parkash, after retirement, had even served as State Information Commissioner during BJP’s tenure from 2017 till 2022. He completed his term as SIC on October 19, 2022 and then joined Congress in Hooda’s presence.

Jassi Petwar, 34
Defeated BJP’s Capt Abhimanyu from Narnaund
Jassi had first contested in 2019 as INLD nominee and got barely 4599 votes. This time he contested as Congress nominee and got 84,801 votes registering a massive increase in his vote share over the last five years. Jassi is quite popular among the rural areas of his constituency.

Balram Dangi, 47
Defeated Ind candidate Balraj Kundu from Meham
Balram’s father Anand Singh Dangi is a veteran Congress leader and had won multiple times from Meham. In 2019, Independent candidate Balraj Kundu defeated Anand. Balram, this time, avenged his father’s defeat.

Pooja, 38
Defeated BJP’s Santosh Sarwan from Mulana
She contested her first political battle from the seat that was represented by her husband Varun Chaudhary who got elected as Lok Sabha MP from Ambala this year. A law graduate from Panjab University, she is among the 13 women MLAs this year.

Devender Hans, 44
Defeated BJP’s Kulwant Ram Bazigar from Guhla
With his total income at Rs. 9.8 lakh, Hans is among the poorest of the MLAs, in terms of income/ assets declared in their election affidavits. He is a refrigerator mechanic. In 2019, he rose to fame for Gadar-movie dialogue that echoed in his election rallies – Agar Pakistan Tara Singh ko visa nahi dega toh kya Tara Singh pakistan nahi jayega? His supporters used this dialogue to indicate that even if no political party gives Hans ticket, does it mean that he would not reach Assembly?

Vikas Saharan, 35
Defeated BJP’s Kamlesh Dhanda from Kalayat
Son of Hisar MP Jai Prakash, Vikas contested his first poll and emerged victorious from a seat that Congress had won last in 2005. The party high command chose Vikas over it’s student activist Shweta Dhull.

Manju Chaudhary, 53
Defeated BJP’s Abhe Singh Yadav from Nangal
She had last contested as INLD nominee in 2014 and finished second. Her husband Mula Ram too had contested from the seat in 2019 and finished second. Both Manju and Mula Ram was then defeated by Abhe Singh Yadav who lost to Manju this time.

Mohd. Israil, 59
Defeated BJP’s Manoj Rawat from Hathin
He contested his first election in 2019 but lost to then BJP’s Praveen Dagar. His father Jaleb Khan had last won this seat in 2009 as Independent candidate but lost in 2014 when he contested as Congress nominee.

Rajbir Fartia, 54
Defeated BJP’s Jai Prakash Dalal from Loharu
A 10th class pass out, Rajbir Singh runs a private company and has assets worth over Rs. 54 crore. He had earlier remained sarpanch of his village, twice and is known for his social works. He is known for providing free-water tankers bearing all expenses from his pocket. He was Bhiwani district president from 2009 till 2014. He is known for providing financial assistance to orphan girl children.

INDIAN NATIONAL LOK DAL: 2

Arjun Chautala, 32
Defeated Congress’ Sarv Mitra Kamboj from Rania
Son of Abhay Chautala and grandson of former CM Om Prakash Chautala and great grandson of former deputy PM Devi Lal, Arjun contested his first Vidhan Sabha political battle this time. He not only defeated Congress’ nominee a journalist turned politician Sarv Mitra Kamboj but also his granduncle Ranjit Singh (Om Prakash Chautala’s brother). Arjun had previously contested 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Kurukshetra but finished a distant fifth.

Aditya Devilal, 47
Defeated Congress’ Amit Sihag from Dabwali
Aditya had quit INLD and joined BJP in 2014. He defeated his cousin Amit Sihag and nephew Digvijay Chautala. All three are scions of Devi Lal’s family. In 2016, Aditya defeated his sister-in-law Kanta Chautala (Abhay Chautala’s wife) in the Zila Parishad member elections in Sirsa. In 2019, Aditya contested as BJP nominee but lost to Amit Sihag. The same year, Aditya was appointed BJP’s Sirsa president but was not considered for the party ticket in 2024. Barely a few days before the nominations were filed for Vidhan Sabha-2024 polls, he quit BJP and came back to INLD that fielded him from Dabwali.

INDEPENDENTS: 2

Devender Kadyan, 44
Defeated Congress’ Kuldeep Sharma from Ganaur
Just before Lok Sabha-2024 polls, Devender was appointed as chairman of Haryana Youth Commission by Saini. However, he turned BJP rebel after he was denied ticket. He is also national vice-president of Wrestling Federation of India. A 12th class passout from Sonipat, Devender is chairman and owns substantial shares in Mannat Group of Hotels Private limited. He also owns shareholding in Haveli Pizza Pvt Ltd. His companies are known for running luxury dhabas on national highways including Chandigarh-Delhi national highway.

Rajesh Joon, 57
Defeated BJP’s Dinesh Kaushik from Bahadurgarh
A businessman, Dinesh contested first time as Independent in 2014 and finished third. This time, till last moment before the AICC declared its list of candidates, Rajesh was hopeful that he will get Congress ticket. He turned rebel and contested as Independent. INC expelled him for six years accusing him of anti-party activities. Congress nominee and three-time former MLA Rajinder Singh Joon is his uncle. During his election campaign, Rajesh had declared that he would win by more than double votes than Rajinder. He got 73,191 votes while Rajinder got 28,955 votes.