ASSEMBLY POLL 2024:Bumpy ride likely for BJP in Hooda’s bastion
Tribune News Service
Rohtak, September 1
The Assembly poll seems to be a bumpy ride for the ruling BJP in Rohtak district due to anti-incumbency and several local and other issues. However, the party leadership is leaving no stone unturned to open its account here this time in the upcoming elections.
The Congress clinched three out of four seats in the 2019 Assembly poll while an Independent candidate emerged victorious from the Meham during that time. Rohtak is considered a political capital of the state and a bastion of former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
This time, a total 8,31,166 voters would elect MLAs from four Assembly constituencies in Rohtak district by exercising their franchise on October 5. Out of these, 4,40,022 are men and 3,91,144 women.There are a total 2,20,035 voters, including 1,17,669 men and 1,02,366 women, in the Garhi Sampla-Kiloi Assembly segment being represented by Hooda, who has so far won five Assembly elections from here.
In previous state poll, Hooda defeated his nearest rival and BJP candidate Satish Nandal by a thumping margin of 58,312 votes.
No other than Hooda has applied for the Congress ticket from Garhi Sampla Kiloi while former minister Krishan Murti Hooda, Rohtak Zila Parishad Chairperson Manju Hooda and Ramesh Bohar are among the contenders for the BJP ticket.
In the Rohtak constituency, 1.97,460 voters, including 1,02,114 men and 95,346 women, would exercise their franchise to decide the fate of candidates in the state poll. The Congress state chief whip Bharat Bhushan Batra is sitting MLA from Rohtak. He defeated the BJP’s nominee and the then Cooperative Minister, Manish Grover, by a narrow margin of 2,735 votes.
Batra and Grover have so far contested the Assembly elections thrice against each other. Batra has won twice while Grover emerged victorious once in 2014. The Congress is likely to field Batra again from Rohtak while the BJP is in the process to finalise its candidate. Batra, who got the award of Best Legislator for his first term between 2009 and 2014, is daily addressing poll meetings in his constituency.
Besides Grover, noted cardiologist, Dr Aditya Batra, Rohtak Municipal Corporation’s outgoing Mayor Manmohan Goyal, Deputy Mayor Raj Kamal Sehgal and former Councilor Ashok Khurana are among the contenders for the BJP ticket from Rohtak.
There are a total of 1,98,359 voters in Meham and 1,05,877 are men while 92,482 are women. The Congress suffered a major setback in 2019 Assembly poll when its senior leader Anand Singh Dangi faced a defeat at the hand of Independent candidate Balraj Kundu by a margin of 12,047 votes.
This time, Dangi wants his son Balram to contest as the Congress nominee from Meham in place of him. Besides Balram, 27 others too are vying for the Congress ticket from there.
In the Kalanaur Assembly constituency (reserved), 2,15,312 voters, including 1,14,362 men and 1,00,950 women, will elect their MLA. At present, Shakuntla Khattak is Congress MLA from here. She made a hat-trick in the previous state elections by defeating BJP’s Ram Avtar Valmiki by a margin of 10,624 votes.
This time, 55 aspirants, including Khattak, have applied for the Congress ticket from Kalanaur while on the other hand, a retired HCS officer, Amajeet Singh, former Rohtak Municipal Corporation chairperson Renu Dabla, Dr Ashok Ranga, Surajmal Kiloi, Ajay Khundia are among the aspirants for BJP ticket.
