BJP expands stronghold, gains in Deswali, Bangar and Bagri belts
The BJP’s success in the Haryana Assembly elections can be attributed to its significant inroads into three key regional belts —Deswali, Bangar, and Bagri — all Jat-dominated areas, while retaining dominance in its strongholds of Ahirwal, Braj, and the Nardak belt along the GT Road. The party’s seat tally reached an all-time high of 48 in the state.
An analysis of the election results reveals that the BJP expanded its base in Sonepat district, part of the Deswali belt, by winning four out of six seats, with one additional seat won by the BJP rebel. The party captured the Rai, Kharkhauda (reserved), Sonepat, and Gohana constituencies, marking its first-ever wins in Gohana and Kharkhauda. Devender Kadiyan, a BJP rebel, won the Ganaur seat. This region, once dominated by Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda, displayed discontent with Congress incumbents.
Key regional belts
- Nardak: 23 seats in Karnal, Panipat, Kurukshetra, Ambala, Yamunanagar, and Panchkula districts (BJP won 14)
- Deswali: 19 seats in Rohtak, Jhajjar, Sonepat, and five seats in Hisar district (BJP won 6)
- Bagri: 16 seats in Sirsa, Fatehabad, Bhiwani, and two in Hisar district (BJP won 6)
- Ahirwal: 11 seats in Rewari, Mahendragarh, and parts of Gurugram (BJP won 10)
- Bangar: 9 seats in Kaithal and Jind districts (BJP won 5)
- Braj: 8 seats in Palwal and Faridabad districts (BJP won 7)
- Meo: 4 seats in Nuh and parts of Palwal districts (Congress swept all 4)
Overall, the BJP won six seats in the Deswali belt, including four in Sonepat and two in Hisar district.
In the Bagri belt, which includes Bhiwani and Charkhi Dadri districts, the BJP performed exceptionally well, winning five out of six seats in a traditionally Jat-dominated area. The party made its first-ever wins in Dadri and Tosham and recaptured Badhra, which it had lost to JJP in 2019, though it lost the Loharu seat.
Similarly, the BJP made surprising gains in the Bangar belt of Jind district, winning four out of five seats, including Safidon, Jind, Uchana Kalan, and Narwana. Only Julana went to the Congress, thanks to Vinesh Phogat’s win. The BJP also secured the Pundri seat in Kaithal district.
Despite some setbacks in the Nardak belt —where Congress reclaimed seats in Ambala, Yamunanagar, and Kurukshetra — the BJP maintained dominance in Karnal and Panipat, winning all nine seats across both districts. The party won a total of 14 seats in the Nardak (GT Road) belt, which includes parts of Karnal, Panipat, Yamunanagar, Ambala, Kurukshetra, and Panchkula districts. The BJP repeated its strong performance in Ahirwal, winning 10 out of 11 seats in Rewari, Mahendragarh, and Gurugram districts, improving on the eight seats it won in 2019.
In the Braj region, the BJP captured seven out of eight seats in Palwal and Faridabad districts. However, the Meo or Mewat region in Nuh and parts of Palwal went entirely to Congress, as the party won all four seats in the area.
Dr Rajender Sharma, Head of the Political Science Department at Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU), Rohtak, said, “The BJP has always been an expansionist party, focusing on growing its base gradually. They took advantage of the Congress’s weaknesses in specific regions and managed to co-opt Jats in Bagri, Bangar, and Deswali segments through clever strategies.”
