In seat father won 5 times, Chiranjeev loses to BJP

Gurgaon: The Haryana assembly elections witnessed a significant upset on Tuesday, particularly in the Rewari constituency, where Congress candidate Chiranjeev Rao suffered a crushing defeat.
Chiranjeev was defeated by BJP's Laxman Singh Yadav by a staggering margin of 28,769 votes.
Laxman garnered a total of 83,747 votes, while Chiranjeev secured 54,978 votes.
Chiranjeev, who previously won the Rewari seat in 2019, was being viewed as a strong contender.
He is the son of Congress veteran and former minister Capt Ajay Yadav, who won five consecutive terms from Rewari.
Chiranjeev, the son-in-law of RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav, had entered the election with high hopes and considerable backing from RJD.
The election campaign was bolstered by the presence of prominent functionaries from Congress and RJD, including Tej Pratap Yadav, who conducted roadshows in Rewari, further solidifying expectations for his victory.
But these efforts, backed by the party's attempts to ride a wave of support, failed.
Chiranjeev's performance deteriorated after the first round of counting, leaving him trailing in subsequent rounds.
The defeat was particularly shocking given that the Rewari seat had historically been a Congress stronghold.
From 1967 to 2019, it was a bastion for the party, with former minister Captain Ajay Singh Yadav winning five consecutive terms from 1991 to 2009.
After BJP's Randhir Singh Kapriwas won from here in 2014, Chiranjeev secured the seat in 2019 with 43,870 votes, marking a significant win for the party against the backdrop of BJP's rare success in the region.
This time, however, Congress was unable to maintain its grip on the constituency, leading to questions about the party's strategy and effectiveness in appealing to the electorate.
Sources suggested that Chiranjeev was also vocal about his aspirations for the deputy chief minister post within a potential Congress govt, "raising concerns that such demands may have detracted from the unity and focus of the campaign".
"As Congress reflected on this significant loss, it must analyse the factors that contributed to Chiranjeev Rao's defeat, from miscalculations in campaign strategy to the effectiveness of rival party mobilisations, in order to regain its footing in Haryana's political landscape," political expert Vikram Singh said.
Even as Rao took to X and said he accepted the mandate and thanked the voters with "a promise to keep serving the people of Rewari", the party's failure to secure a win in a constituency that had been synonymous with its legacy has raised critical questions about its future direction and electoral strategies.
The results in Rewari mirrored a larger trend in Haryana, where BJP has left Congress grappling with its diminishing influence.