Ex-IAS officer, Olympian wrestler, former jailer among fresh faces in Haryana assembly

CHANDIGARH: The Haryana Assembly will bear an eclectic visage with a former IAS officer, an Olympian wrestler, and a former jailer joining it as first-time members.

Bucking anti-incumbency, the ruling BJP pulled off a hat-trick of wins in Haryana to retain power and halt the Congress's comeback attempt in the recently-concluded assembly elections.

While the BJP ended up with its best-ever haul of 48 seats in the state, 11 more than the Congress, parties like the JJP and the AAP were routed and the INLD managed to win just two seats. AAP contested the election solo.

Retired IAS officer Chander Parkash, who was the Congress's candidate from Adampur assembly segment, made sitting MLA and BJP candidate Bhavya Bishnoi bite the dust, defeating him by margin of 1,268 votes.

Bhavya is the grandson of former chief minister Bhajan Lal. The seat before him was represented by his father Kuldeep Bishnoi, and before him, Bhajan Lal, his grandfather.

Wrestler Vinesh Phogat won the Julana assembly seat on a Congress ticket after she defeating the BJP's Yogesh Kumar by a margin of 6,015 votes.

Thirty-year-old Phogat made a foray into politics after announcing retirement from wrestling.

Phogat and wrestler Bajrang Punia were at the forefront of the 2023 wrestlers' protest against then WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who is also a former BJP MP.

At Paris, Phogatbecame the first Indian woman wrestler to reach the Olympics final, the stage where she was disqualified after being found overweight by about 100 grams in her 50-kilogramme category weigh-in.

From Ateli seat which is part of the Ahirwal region, international skeet shooter and BJP candidate Arti Singh Rao defeated BSP's Attar Lal. Rao is the daughter of Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh.

Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's former jailer and BJP's Sunil Sangwan registered a win from the Charkhi Dadri seat.

Sangwan, a former jail superintendent, defeated Congress's Manisha Sangwan by 1,957 votes.

Sangwan had quit from the post of jail superintendent taking voluntary retirement.

Indian National Lok Dal candidate and former prime minister Devi Lal's great-grandson Arjun Chautala won the Rania seat in Sirsa district, Congress's Sarv Mitter.

Arjun is the son of INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala, who lost from the Ellenabad assembly segment.

Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala's son Aditya Surjewala won the Kaithal seat defeating sitting MLA Leela Ram from the BJP.

Aditya is the grandson of Congress member Shamsher Singh Surjewala, who represented Kaithal several times in the assembly. Randeep has also been an MLA from the Kaithal constituency.

INLD's Aditya Devi Lal, a son of Jagdish, the youngest son of former PM Devi Lal,won the Dabwali seat. Aditya Devi Lal had defected to his current party leaving the saffron party.

BJP's Devender Chatar Bhuj Attri scraped through to victory by just 32 votes from the Uchana Kalan seat, a Jat stronghold, defeating Congress nominee Brijendra Singh.

The Jannayak Janta Party's Dushyant Chautala, who was the outgoing MLA from Uchana Kalan seat, was at the fifth spot.

Congress's Pooja Chaudhry, the wife of party MP Varun Chaudhry, won the Mulana (SC) seat.

BJP's Shakti Rani Sharma won the Kalka seat. She is the wife of former Union minister Venod Sharma and the mother of Rajya Sabha MP Kartikeya Sharma.

Congress's Gokul Setia defeated Haryana Lokhit Vikas Party's Gopal Kanda from Sirsa. Setia is the grandson of former Haryana minister Lachhman Dass Arora.

Congress candidate Vikas Saharan, the son of Congress MP from Hisar Jai Prakash, won the Kalayat seat. He defeated former minister and BJP's Kamlesh Dhanda.