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While the Ellenabad bypoll saw INLD’s Abhay Chautala return as MLA, the results, coming amid the farmers’ agitation, have thrown up some surprises, with the BJP-JJP alliance faring better than what many had predicted and the Congress dipping to a distant third.
The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) won by a margin of over 6,500 votes, overcoming a tough competition from the BJP-JJP alliance, which secured around 58,857 votes. The Congress could barely secure around 20,682 votes.
BJP-JJP had fielded Sirsa-based businessman and philanthropist Gobind Kanda, who enjoys a significant following in the entire Sirsa district. Congress had relied upon BJP’s rebel Pawan Beniwal. We explain the reasons why INLD’s Chautala defeated them both.
It was on January 27 this year that INLD’s lone MLA in Haryana Vidhan Sabha, Abhay Chautala, resigned, “listening to the appeal made by the farmers”, who had asked all MLAs of Haryana to resign if they were their “genuine well-wishers”. The farmers had also appealed that the MLAs should join them in their ongoing struggle against the three central farm laws. Although a few Independent MLAs did withdraw their support to the BJP-JJP alliance and announced they were with the farmers in their struggle, Abhay was the first and the only MLA to resign.
This move made a significant impact in the largely rural constituency, which is already considered a stronghold of the Chautala clan.
Various SKM leaders campaigned in the constituency, but only asked the farmers to boycott the BJP-JJP nominee, not seeking votes for Abhay directly. However, SKM’s senior leader Rakesh Tikait gave clear hints that Abhay Chautala should be “rewarded” and made “stronger” in the bypoll.
Ellenabad constituency has a total of 190 polling stations, of which 166 are in rural areas and 24 in urban areas. The total number of voters is 1,85,869, including 98,930 men and 86,639 women, as per the website of the state’s chief electoral officer.
The primarily rural voter population gave an edge to INLD, as the BJP-JJP alliance was facing opposition from the farmer community. However, the final results do show that the BJP-JJP did not do too badly, bagging a significant share of rural votes.
Ellenabad has traditionally been a stronghold of the Chautala clan. Abhay Chautala is a four-time MLA. He had won the Rori Assembly bypoll in Sirsa district in 2000, and the 2010 bypoll from Ellenabad, when his father and INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala had vacated the seat to retain the Uchana seat in Jind district, the other constituency he had won in 2009.
Abhay had retained Ellenabad in 2014 and then in 2019. Previously, when the constituency was a reserved seat, INLD candidates Dr Sushil Kumar Indora (2005 assembly polls) and Bhagi Ram (2000 assembly polls) had won the seat. In 1977 and 1982 too, Bhagi Ram had won from this constituency as Lok Dal (INLD was then known as Lok Dal) nominee.
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BJP nominated Haryana Lokhit Party’s lone MLA Gopal Kanda’s brother Gobind Kanda as its nominee for this bypoll. Gopal Kanda represents Sirsa assembly constituency and both the brothers enjoy significant support here. But this support could not translate into a win for Gobind, because of the immense opposition from farmers to the alliance that nominated him.
Congress had nominated a BJP rebel, Pawan Beniwal, as its candidate. Pawan Beniwal had earlier contested from the constituency on a BJP ticket in 2014 and 2019, losing both times to Abhay Chautala. Recently, Pawan quit BJP and joined Congress. In 2019, while Abhay got approximately 57,000 votes, Beniwal finished second with about 45,000 votes. Congress’ Bharat Singh Beniwal got approximately 35,000 votes and JJP candidate OP Sihag received over 6,500 votes.
The verdict announced today shows that the Congress lost its vote share, as Pawan Beniwal could barely secure around 21,000 votes, apparently to the gain of the BJP-JJP candidate.
