A poll full of shock defeats, surprise wins
Neeraj Mohan
New Delhi, June 5
As many as 13 Union Ministers bit the dust and several political novices secured their maiden victories in the recently concluded General Election.
A detailed analysis of the results highlights numerous unexpected wins, with newcomers triumphing over seasoned politicians. Two contenders arrested on serious charges won from jail.
Uttar Pradesh’s results were full of surprises as SP’s Iqra Hasan, a political greenhorn and daughter of ex-MP Munawar Hasan, defeated BJP’s sitting MP Pradeep Chaudhary in Kairana. An MSc (international politics and law), Iqra returned to Kairana from London to carry the political legacy of her family when her brother and Kairana MLA Nahid Hasan was jailed in January 2022 under Gangsters Act.
Pushpendra Saroj, 25, armed with degrees from Queen Mary University of London, won the Kaushambhi seat for the SP by defeating two-time BJP MP Vinod Sonkar by 1.03 lakh votes. Another young achiever, Priya Saroj, 25, a Supreme Court lawyer, won the Machhlishahr seat on SP ticket by defeating Bholnath Saroj of BJP by 35,850 votes. In Kerala, actor Suresh Gopi made a remarkable debut for the BJP by winning the Thrissur seat.
Among the surprise winners are several turncoats. Rajasthan’s Hanuman Beniwal, Umeda Ram Beniwal and Rahul Kashwan are prime examples. As former NDA partner Hanuman, after being overlooked by the BJP, joined the INDIA bloc and defeated Congress’ defector and BJP candidate Jyoti Mirdha in Nagaur. While Kashwan, a two-time BJP MP, switched to the Congress after being dropped, and secured a win in Churu by over 72,000 votes. Even, Umeda Ram a close confidante of Hanuman, had switched to Congress and defeated independent Ravindra Bhati by a margin of 1.18 lakh votes, pushing BJP’s sitting MP and Union Minister Kailash Choudhary at the third position.
Similarly, the high-profile loss of Smriti Irani, who famously defeated Rahul Gandhi in Amethi in 2019, was a major shock. Having his roots in Ludhiana of Punjab, Congress candidate Kishori Lal Sharma who contested his first election won Amethi by 1.67 lakh votes.
In Gujarat, Congress’s Geniben Thakor prevented the BJP to retain all 26 seats, as she defeated BJP candidate Rekha Chaudhary in the Banaskantha Lok Sabha seat by a margin of 30,000 votes. Banaskantha has long been a stronghold for the BJP. In the 2019 elections, BJP candidate Parbatbhai Patel won the seat with a significant margin of 368,000 votes over Congress’s Parthi Bhatol.
The border state of Assam also witnessed a surprise as the deputy leader of the Congress legislature party in the state Rakibul Hassan trounced three-term MP and businessman Mohammad Badrudin Ajmal by an astounding 10.12 lakh votes, securing 60 per cent or 14.71 lakh votes in total.
This election also witnessed two candidates winning from jail. Amritpal Singh, 31, a Khalistan ideologue currently lodged in Assam’s Dibrugarh jail under NSA charges, won from the Khadoor Sahib constituency in Punjab. Similarly, Engineer Sheikh Abdul Rashid lodged in Delhi’s Tihar jail under UAPA, won the Baramullah seat in Kashmir with 2,04,142 votes, defeating former CM Omar Abdullah of the National Conference.
Stellar performance
Geniben Thakor In Gujarat, Congress’ Geniben Thakor prevented the BJP from retaining all 26 seats by defeating BJP’s Rekha Chaudhary in Banaskantha
Rakibul Hassan In Assam, Congress’ Rakibul Hassan trounced three-term MP Mohammad Badrudin Ajmal by 10.12 lakh votes
Suresh Gopi Actor Suresh Gopi handed BJP its maiden victory in Kerala by winning Thrissur seat
