Sufi singer-turned-politician and incumbent MP from North West Delhi, Hans Raj Hans, is trailing at distant fifth by a margin of 1,73,915 votes, as of 5:45 pm, from Punjab’s Faridkot constituency in the Lok Sabha election, reported the Election Commission of India website.
Independent candidate Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa is leading the race by securing 2,96,922 votes. Results showed that the 62-year-old Hans Raj Hans, is behind four other candidates - Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa, Karamjit Singh Anmol, Rajwinder Singh Dharamkot and Amarjit Kaur Sahoke.
Also read: Lok Sabha Election Results 2024 LIVE
In 2019, Hans Raj Hans had emerged victorious from the North West Delhi seat, securing an impressive vote share of 60.49% and defeating AAP’s Gugan Singh with a vote margin of 39.48%.
However, in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the BJP shifted Hans Raj Hans from Delhi to his home state, Punjab. The Padma Shri awardee faced farmers’ ire on the very first day of his campaign when he held a roadshow in the Gidderbaha Assembly constituency.
Hans made his electoral debut from Jalandhar in 2009 on a Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) ticket and was defeated by Congress’ Mohinder Singh Kaypee with a vote margin of 4.05%. He continued his political journey with SAD until 2014.
Also read: Election Results 2024 LIVE News
{{/usCountry}}Hans made his electoral debut from Jalandhar in 2009 on a Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) ticket and was defeated by Congress’ Mohinder Singh Kaypee with a vote margin of 4.05%. He continued his political journey with SAD until 2014.
Also read: Election Results 2024 LIVE News
{{/usCountry}}After staying away from politics for almost two years, Hans joined the Congress party in February 2016 but parted ways after ten months only to join the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Hans Raj Hans learned music from renowned music director Charanjit Ahuja and then shone in Punjabi folk, devotional, and Sufi music. He also worked with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, known as the master of Hindustani classical music.
Since 1962, the Faridkot constituency has mainly sided with the Congress party. Of the fifteen Lok Sabha elections from the seat, India’s grand old party has registered victory eleven times.
Spread across four districts of Punjab, including Moga, Faridkot, Muktsar, and Bathinda, the constituency has nine assembly segments, Baghapurana, Faridkot, Kotkapura, Jaitu, Gidderbaha, Rampura Phul, Moga, Dharamkot, and Nihal Singh Wala.
Of these nine assembly constituencies, eight are represented by the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party.
The Lok Sabha seat went to polls in the last phase on June 1 and recorded a voter turnout of 63.34 per cent. In Punjab, AAP and Congress, which are the constituents of the INDIA bloc, contested the Lok Sabha polls separately.
The Lok Sabha polls for 543 seats were held in seven phases starting from April 19, with the last phase on June 1. The Bharatiya Janata Party is seeking a rare third term at the Centre with Narendra Modi as Prime Minister.