Haryana results: CM Nayab Singh Saini wins Ladwa assembly seat
Nayab Singh Saini's political career started at the grassroots level and has since played a key role in strengthening the BJP's presence in Haryana.
Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini won the Ladwa assembly seat on Tuesday by a margin of 16,054 votes against his nearest Congress rival Mewa Singh, according to the Election Commission.
The BJP is in the lead in 50 of the 90 seats in Haryana while the Congress is ahead in 35.
Haryana went to polls on October 5 and the counting of votes is underway.
Previously, Saini was the MP from Kurukshetra, the parliamentary constituency in which Ladwa falls.
Also read: Election results: BJP comes back from behind to take lead in Haryana, show trends
Nayab Singh Saini's political career
Nayab Singh Saini's political career spans nearly three decades, and he started at the grassroots level and has since played a key role in strengthening the BJP's presence in Haryana. He was appointed as the district general secretary of the BJP's youth wing in Ambala in 2002, followed by his elevation to district president in 2005.
Over the years, he has held various key positions, including serving as the state general secretary of the Kisan Morcha, the farmers' wing of the BJP. His leadership abilities were further recognized when he became the district president in Ambala in 2012.
In the 2014 Haryana state elections, the 54-year-old was elected as an MLA from Narayangarh and subsequently appointed as a state minister in 2016. His influence grew significantly when he was elected as a Lok Sabha MP from the Kurukshetra constituency in the 2019 elections, where he secured a resounding victory over Congress's Nirmal Singh by a margin of nearly 4 lakh votes.
Before his recent appointment as Chief Minister, Nayab Singh Saini had served as the Haryana BJP chief since October of the previous year, demonstrating his close alignment with the party's leadership, particularly with outgoing Chief Minister ML Khattar.
Also read: Haryana Election Results: BJP's Anil Vij trails against Congress' Parvinder Pal Pari in Ambala Cantt
Mewa Singh – Nayab Saini's opponent
His rival, Mewa Singh, is also a prominent political figure whose journey began as a village sarpanch. He later became a member of the district council and took on the role of chairperson for the Kurukshetra district council under the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) party. He contested his first assembly election on a BJP, but switched allegiance to the Congress in 2011 and successfully won a seat in the 2019 elections representing Congress.
In the recent Lok Sabha elections, the BJP showcased an impressive performance in Kurukshetra, particularly in the Ladwa assembly seat, which falls under this parliamentary constituency. BJP's Naveen Jindal secured a remarkable victory, while the candidate from the India Alliance, Shushila Gupta, received only 57,295 votes, highlighting the BJP's stronghold in the region.
Also read: Election Results 2024 LIVE: Topsy-turvy Haryana trends now show BJP in lead
All about Ladwa Assembly constituency
Ladwa Assembly constituency is one of the 90 Vidhan Sabha constituencies of Haryana state in northern India. Formed in 2007, the Ladwa assembly constituency falls under the Kurukshetra Lok Sabha constituency.
It is known for its grains market, one of the best in Asia. Ladwa is also a tehsil within the Kurukshetra district and it includes the Babain sub-tehsil. There are 98 villages in the Ladwa tehsil out of which 53 villages fall in Ladwa and 45 in Babain.
The total population of the constituency is 28,887, which includes 15,345 males and 13,542 females, according to the 2011 Census. The average literacy rate in Ladwa is 72.3%, with male literacy at 76.3% and female literacy at 67.8%.