Chandigarh: With the Haryana Assembly election results announced, the BJP has secured an absolute majority and is set to form the government. However, eight ministers from the party faced surprising defeats.
Subhash Sudha, BJP candidate and Minister of State for Urban Local Bodies was defeated by Congress's Ashok Arora in Thanesar by over 3,000 votes. Former Assembly Speaker and Agriculture Minister Kanwarpal Gurjar also faced defeat from Congress candidate Akram Khan in Jagadhari, losing by more than 7,000 votes.
Minister of State for Irrigation and Water Resources Abhay Singh Yadav lost in Nangal Chaudhary to Congress's Manju Chaudhary by over 6,000 votes. Aseem Goyal, Minister of State for Development and Panchayat, was defeated in Ambala City by a margin of 11,131 votes to Congress's Nirmal Singh.
Finance Minister Jai Prakash Dalal narrowly lost his Loharu seat by 792 votes to Congress's Rajbir Fartia. Health Minister Kamal Gupta was defeated by independent candidate Savitri Jindal in Hisar by a margin of 18,941 votes.
Minister of State for Sports Sanjay Singh lost in Nuh where his deposit was forfeited; Congress candidate Aftab Ahmed emerged victorious. Ranjit Chautala also faced defeat in Rania, with INLD's Arjun Chautala winning the seat, while Congress's Sarv Mitra finished second, losing by just 4,191 votes.
Vidhan Sabha Speaker Gyan Chand Gupta lost his seat in Panchkula where he was defeated by Congress candidate Chandramohan Bishnoi, the son of Bhajan Lal, by 1,997 votes.
Read more: Haryana Election Results: Did Infighting Upset Both Congress Calculations and Exit Poll Predictions
