Lok Sabha 2019 constituency: Fate of Chautala family heir at stake in Haryana’s Kurukshetra

The Kurukshetra parliamentary constituency in Haryana was once the bastion of the Congress party.

The grand old party held the Kurukshetra Lok Sabha seat for eight terms and the Janata Party and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) twice each. Haryana Vikas Party’s OP Jindal, the father of two-time former member of Parliament from Kurukshetra and Congress leader Naveen Jindal, won once.

The Kurukshetra Lok Sabha seat remained a stronghold of the INLD before the Lok Sabha and assembly elections in 2005. The election is being seen as crucial for both INLD as the party is fighting for the legacy of former deputy prime minister and party founder late Devi Lal. The outcome of the Lok Sabha election 2019 in Kurukshetra election would also decide the future political course for Arjun Chautala, the youngest and favourite grandson of INLD supremo Om Prakash Chautala.

The Kurukshetra Lok Sabha seat parliamentary constituency is spread across Kurukshetra and Kaithal districts and covers parts of Yamuna Nagar district. There are nine assembly segments — Radaur, Ladwa, Shahbad (SC), Thanesar, Pehowa, Guhla (SC), Kalayat, Kaithal and Pundri.

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Three assembly segments of Ladwa, Radaur and Shahbad of under this constituency have a majority of voters from the Saini and Punjabi communities. Kalayat, Kaithal, Guhla and Raduar segments are dominated by Jats.

All the ten parliamentary constituencies in Haryana will vote in the sixth round of the seven-phased Lok Sabha election on May 12. The votes will be counted on May 23.

Here are a few details about the Kurukshetra Lok Sabha seat:

State: Haryana

Name of the Lok Sabha constituency: Kurukshetra

Polling date: May 6

2019 candidates: Nayab Saini (BJP), Nirmal Singh (Congress), Ajay Chautala (INLD), Jaibhagwan Sharma (JPP)

Sitting MP, party: Raj Kumar Saini, BJP

Winning margin in 2014: 129,736

Runner up name, party: Balbir Singh Saini, INLD

Number of voters in 2014: 1,135,892

Percentage of votes polled in 2014: 75.80%

Number of women voters in 2014: 690,759

Number of polling booths in 2014: 1,542