Haryana by-poll win for Congress reinforces Hooda’s clout among Jats

Yogeshwar Dutt has witnessed the second consecutive defeat from Baroda seat after joining the saffron party.

The opposition Congress retained the Baroda assembly seat in Haryana by securing a fourth consecutive victory from this rural Jat dominated seat since 2009 assembly polls.

Indu Raj Narwal said he owed his victory to Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Deepender Hooda. (HT)

The Congress candidate Indu Raj Narwal, 40, who comes from Rindhana village defeated BJP candidate and Olympian wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt by 10, 566 votes. Dutt bagged 50,070 votes, while Narwal got 60,636 votes. The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) nominee Joginder Singh Malik, who performed slight better than in the 2019 assembly polls, bagged only 5,003 votes while the Loktantra Suraksha party chief Raj Kumar Saini failed to make a mark on the Jat turf and got only 5,611 votes. Both Malik and Saini failed to save their security deposit. A total 469 votes were polled for None of the above (NOTA) voting options on the EVM.

The by-poll was a battle of prestige for former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who managed to guard his bastion and demonstrate his influence, particularly in the Deswali belt. Narwal’s win took the Congress tally to 31 in the state assembly.

Yogeshwar Dutt has witnessed the second consecutive defeat from Baroda seat after joining the saffron party having quit as deputy superintendent of police (DSP) last year.

Bihar Election Results: Full coverage

In the 2019 assembly elections, Sri Krishan Hooda of the Congress got 42,566 votes, defeating Yogeshwar Dutt, who bagged 37,726 votes and INLD’s Joginder Malik, who got only 3,145 votes.

Reacting to his defeat, Dutt said he will introspect on the reason for losing the election.

“I want to thank my party leadership for reposing faith and fielding me again from this seat. The Baroda voters have given me more love and affection than the previous election,” he added.

Indu Raj Narwal dedicated his win to party workers and farmers.

“I got my nomination due to Bhupinder Singh Hooda. This is a joint win of Hooda sahab and farmers, who are fighting against this arrogant government. Deepender Hooda and Bhupinder Singh Hooda fought my election and ensured a thumping majority,” he added.

The Baroda assembly seat recorded a turnout of 68% during voting on November 3. There were 14 candidates in the fray from the constituency. The seat fell vacant in April following the death of Congress MLA Krishan Hooda, who had won the seat thrice in 2009, 2014 and 2019.