BJP’s Arvind Sharma vs Congress’ Deepender Singh Hooda, Hooda will strive to regain citadel in Rohtak while BJP will try to fulfil its ‘400 Paar’ goal

Rohtak (Haryana) [India], May 23 (ANI): The Rohtak Lok Sabha constituency, one of Haryana’s ten parliamentary seats, is set for a crucial electoral battle on May 25, during Phase 6 of the Lok Sabha elections.

This constituency includes nine legislative assembly segments: Meham, Garhisampla-Kiloi, Rohtak, Kalanaur, Bahadurgarh, Badli, Jhajjar, Beri, and Kosli.

In the 2024 election, the Rohtak Lok Sabha seat will witness a fight between BJP’s Arvind Sharma and Congress’ Deepender Singh Hooda.

The previous election in 2019 saw Arvind Sharma narrowly defeat Deepender Singh Hooda by just 7,503 votes. Sharma secured 573,845 votes while Hooda received 566,342 votes. They are again pitted against each other, making the election on this seat interesting.

In 2014, Deepender Singh Hooda of the Indian National Congress won, securing a total of 490,063 votes. Om Parkash Dhankar of the Bharatiya Janata Party stood second with a total of 319,436 votes.

Deepender Singh Hooda, who previously held the Rohtak seat for three terms (2005 bypoll, 2009, and 2014), is aiming to reclaim his stronghold.

Hooda’s family has a longstanding legacy in Rohtak, with his grandfather, Ranbir Singh Hooda, winning the first two Lok Sabha elections in 1952 and 1957, and Deepender’s father, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, defeating Chaudhury Devi Lal of the Janata Party. That legacy continued, albeit with brief interruptions, with the third generation retaining the seat; till 2019.

On the other hand, the BJP is determined to retain the seat as part of its broader goal of securing 400 MPs in the Lok Sabha (Abki baar 400 paar). Arvind Sharma, who joined BJP on May 15, 2019, in the presence of former Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, is seen as a key candidate in this effort.

Earlier, Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini said on May 5, “People of Rohtak have said today that they will make Dr Arvind Sharma win by more than 5 lakh votes…It is a festival of democracy and we all should vote for the development of the country. Bharatiya Janata Party will win all 10 Lok Sabha seats of Haryana.”

Congress released its list of candidates for Haryana on April 26, fielding Deepender Singh Hooda for Rohtak.

On May 7, Hooda expressed confidence in Congress’s prospects, stating, “The situation in the state (Haryana) is against BJP, change is definite in the state. BJP govt has lost the majority. Among the list of 48 MLAs they had given, few MLAs have resigned because they are fighting the Lok Sabha election and some independent MLAs withdrew their support to BJP and have extended their support to Congress. So the minority MLAs have no right.”

The Lok Sabha elections for the 10 parliamentary constituencies of Haryana are going to be held in a single phase on May 25.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in the state, the BJP swept the state, capturing all 10 seats. In the 2014 elections, the BJP won 7 seats, while the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) won 2 seats and the Congress secured only one seat.

In the House of 90, the BJP has 39 MLAs, the Congress has 30, the Jan Nayak Janata Party has 10, the Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP) has one, and the Indian National Lok Dal has one, along with seven Independents.

The BJP, which had 41 MLAs initially, was reduced to 39 when the Karnal and Rania seats fell vacant following the resignation of two MLAs. Earlier, six out of seven Independent MLAs used to support the BJP. With three Independents withdrawing their support, the BJP at present, has the support of three Independents and one HLP MLA, making it a government of 43 MLAs.The 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state go to the polls on May 25.