Karnal all for BJP, victories for CM Saini, ex-CM Khattar

Parveen Arora

Karnal, June 4

BJP has retained its stronghold by winning both Karnal Lok Sabha and Karnal Assembly segment seats.

Former Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar won the Lok Sabha seat, while CM Nayab Singh Saini secured victory in the Karnal Assembly byelection.

Despite certain challenges, including farmers’ agitation, resentment among sarpanches and the anti-incumbency factor, the duo came out victorious.

Khattar has defeated his nearest rival Congress candidate Divyanshu Budhiraja with a margin of 2,32,577 votes. While Khattar received 7,39,285 votes, Budhiraja got 5,06,708 votes, BSP candidate Inder Singh got 32,508, INLD-backed NCP candidate received 29,151 votes, JJP candidate Devender Kadian got 11,467 votes.

Meanwhile, Saini won the Karnal Assembly seat with a margin of 41,540 votes. He got 95,004 votes, while his nearest rival Congress candidate Trilochan Singh received 53,464 votes.

However, the fall in victory margin on both seats is a cause for concern for the party leadership.

Previously, the BJP candidate from Karnal Lok Sabha seat, Sanjay Bhatia, had won with a margin of 6,56,142 votes in 2019, the second highest margin in the country. From the Karnal Assembly seat in 2019, Khattar won with a margin of 45,188 votes. He obtained 79,906 votes, and defeated Congress candidate Trilochan Singh, who received 34,718 votes.

No victory procession was taken out by the BJP, but they celebrated the win by dancing and distributing sweets at the party’s election office.

NOTA on third place

None of the Above (NOTA) secured third position in Karnal Assembly election in terms of the votes polled after BJP and Congress candidates. As many as 1,113 people opted for NOTA. JJP candidate Rajinder Madaan got 1,073 votes, Rashtriya Garib Dal candidate Tilak Raj Singla 331 votes, Independent candidate Suresh Kumar 298 votes, Peoples Party of India (Democratic) candidate Suresh Kumar got 279 votes and so on.

‘CM’s City’ tag intact

• With the victory of Nayab Singh Saini in the Karnal Assembly by-election, Karnal city retained the tag of ‘CM’s City’, spreading a wave of joy among voters who were annoyed after losing the tag after Khattar’s resignation from the CM’s post on March 12.
• Karnal got the tag in 2014 when residents elected Khattar as MLA and later the party’s MLAs nominated him as the CM.
• It had also retained the tag in 2019 when Khattar won from this seat again.
• Khattar resigned from the CM post and subsequently resigned from the post of MLA on March 13, paving way for Saini to contest from Karnal seat as he had to become an MLA in six months after taking oath as CM.
• During his road show, Khattar had appealed to the people to vote for Saini to keep the tag intact

Will examine results: Khattar

The outcome was not as we had predicted, but everyone has their own estimates. We will discuss this and look into whatever the reasons might be behind (lower margin) — Manohar Lal Khattar, former CM

People voted for development: Saini

It is the victory of people who voted for the works done by former CM Manohar Lal Khattar and PM Narendra Modi. Party workers and leaders worked with dedication — Nayab Singh Saini, CM