Bishnoi races towards victory in Hisar, Congress third

Oct 17, 2011 |

IANS

Hisar (Haryana)

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Haryana Janhit Congress' Kuldeep Singh Bishnoi appeared set for victory in the Hisar parliamentary by-election while the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) was number two and the state's ruling Congress was trailing a distant third.

Bishnoi was leading by more than 30,000 votes over his rivals, Ajay Singh Chautala of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and Congress' three-time MP Jai Parkash.

As speculation mounted over the role played by Anna Hazare and team, which stepped into the political fray to campaign against the Congress, Bishnoi said he owed nothing to the anti-corruption crusader.

"I attribute it only to my father and the (alliance with) BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party)," Bishnoi told reporters here, as officials placed him on the victory lap with a lead of 32,000 votes over his nearest rival.

By the time Team Anna began campaigning in Hisar against the Congress for its refusal to back the Jan Lokpal Bill, people had decided to vote for him, he said.

Bishnoi, son of former Haryana chief minister Bhajan Lal, however, added that he respected anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare and would vote for the Jan Lokpal Bill in parliament.

The Hisar seat had fallen vacant in June following the death of Bhajan Lal, a three-time chief minister.

As Bishnoi looked forward to victory, the son of another former chief minister was looking at second position in the crucial election result. Ajay Singh Chautala is the son of former Haryana chief minister, Om Prakash Chautala.

The Congress' Jai Parkash had come third in the last election as well. Although Bishnoi refused to give the Team Anna any credit, some analysts said the campaign had also affected the Congress prospects.

Surprisingly, Jai Parkash also denied that Team Anna had anything to do with the Hisar result. "The caste factor undid me," he said.

The election, held on Oct 13, witnessed 70 percent polling. About 9.3 lakh voters (nearly 70 percent) of 13.32 lakh registered voters had voted.

Results will be announced by Monday afternoon.

There were around 40 candidates, mostly independents, in Hisar.

In the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, Bhajan Lal of HJC got 2.48 lakh votes. He was followed by INLD's Sampat Singh (2.41 lakh votes). Congress' Jai Parkash had stood third with 2.04 lakh votes.

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