Congress has once again fielded Dharam Singh Chhokkar from Samalkha assembly seat of Panipat. Dharam Singh Chhokkar has been an MLA from Samalkha twice. He has got the ticket for the third time. He has many businesses in Gurugram, from real estate to petrol pumps. He is considered very close to Bhupendra Hooda. BJP has given ticket to Manmohan Bhadana from this seat. Dharam Singh Chhokkar and Manmohan Bhadana both belong to the Gurjar community.
Actually, the number of Gujjar voters is the highest in Samalkha seat. That is why both BJP and Congress have bet on the leaders of this community. A triangular contest is expected on this seat, because apart from BJP and Congress, two strong independent candidates are also in the fray. Former MLA Ravindra Machrauli, who comes from the Jat community, will contest the election as an independent candidate from this seat. After Gujjars, Jat voters are the highest in Samalkha.
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Independents will increase the tension of BJP and Congress in Samalkha
Ravindra Machrauli has also been an independent MLA from here once. BJP’s rebel leader Sanjay Choukkar, who comes from Gurjar community, has also announced to contest the election as an independent from Samalkha seat. Angry at not getting the ticket, he has resigned from BJP. He was a member of BJP’s state executive. Along with him, 50 BJP workers also resigned en masse.
Samalkha assembly constituency has been a distant dream for the BJP as the saffron party has not tasted success here yet. Congress will contest to retain its seat. A tough fight is expected between the two parties. Congress has won this seat five times out of a total of 13 assembly elections. Samalkha assembly constituency is considered one of the major constituencies of the GT Road belt, but BJP has never won here.
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BJP had lost Samalkha seat even in the 2014 wave
In 2014, even during the BJP wave, Samalkha residents elected independent MLA Ravinder Machhrauli and in 2019, during the second wave of BJP, they elected Congress candidate Dharam Singh Chhokkar as their MLA. In 2009, Dharam Singh Chhokkar won from here on the ticket of Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC-Bhajan Lal) by defeating Congress candidate Sanjay Chhokkar. But later he supported the then Chief Minister Bhupendra Singh Hooda.
In 2014, the BJP won almost all the seats on the GT Road belt, but in Samalkha, independent candidate Ravinder Machhroli defeated Congress candidate Dharam Singh Chhokar. However, he later supported the BJP. In 2019, the Congress again fielded former CM Bhupinder Hooda’s loyalist Dharam Singh Chhokar from the seat and he won here by defeating BJP candidate Shashikant Kaushik by a margin of 14,942 votes.
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