In Pundri, BJP breaks six-time winning streak of Ind nominees
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has made history by winning the Pundri Assembly segment for the first time, breaking a six-election streak where Independent candidates dominated the constituency.
BJP candidate Satpal Jamba won the seat by a narrow margin of 2,197 votes. Jamba got 42,805 votes and Congress rebel and Independent candidate Satbir Bhana finished second with 40,608 votes. Congress candidate Sultan Jadola came third with 26,341 votes.
The Pundri Assembly segment, part of Kaithal district, has historically favoured Independent candidates. This trend began after Haryana’’s formation with Kaithal witnessing its first election in 1967, which was won by Congress’’ RP Singh. In 1968, Independent candidate Ishwar Singh won the seat. Congress candidate Ishwar Singh won the seat in 1972.
In 1977, amid the nationwide anti-Congress wave following the Emergency, Agnivesh of Janata Party won the Pundri seat. The trend shifted back to Congress in 1982 when Ishwar Singh reclaimed the seat. Makhan Singh from the Lok Dal won in 1987.
The trend of electing Independent candidates began in earnest in 1996. Since then, the Pundri electorate consistently chose Independent representatives, including Narender Sharma (1996), Tejvir Singh (2000), Dinesh Kaushik (2005), Sultan Jadola (2009), Dinesh Kaushik (2014) and Randhir Singh Gollen (2019).
As per political experts, Jamba’s victory in this election marks a departure from the trend of electing Independent candidates. “The people of Pundri elected an MLA from a political party after a gap of six elections. It reflects that the people have changed their choice,” said a political analyst.
