With the counting of votes for Haryana polls is all set to take place today starting 8am, all eyes will be on Garhi Sampla-Kiloi seat from where veteran Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda is trying his fate once again in the assembly polls. The Garhi Sampla-Kiloi constituency covers areas in and around Sampla and Kiloi villages, with the town of Garhi being a key region in the constituency. It is part of the Rohtak Lok Sabha constituency, meaning it contributes to both state and national elections.
Hoods is locked in a tight contest against Manju Hooda of the BJP. Hooda’s long-standing influence in the region makes it a stronghold for the Congress party. Due to its association with Hooda, Garhi Sampla-Kiloi is seen as a bellwether seat in Haryana politics.
Bhupinder Singh Hooda was first elected to Lok Sabha in 1991 and was re-elected in 1996, 1998, 2004. He was first elected to Haryana legislative assembly in 2000. He served as the Chief Minister of Haryana from 2005 to 2014. He also remained the Leader of the Opposition in the Haryana Legislative Assembly from 2001 to 2004. In 2019, Hooda won the seat by defeating BJP’s Satish Nandal. Despite the Congress’ poor performance in the state, the former chief minister has secured victory in the Garhi Sampla-Kiloi seat in each of the last three Assembly elections.
The seat has over two lakh voters and the seat registered around 61% voter turnout this time. In the 2019 polls, Bhupinder Singh Hooda polled around 98,000 votes while the BJP candidate Satish Nandal managed to get around 40,000 votes. The seat is known to have a large proportion of Jat voters, which plays a crucial role in determining the outcome of elections. Other communities such as Scheduled Castes (SC) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) also contribute significantly to the voter base.
The exit polls have already favoured the Congress by limiting the BJP to less than 30 seats in most cases. P-Marq has forecasted 51-61 seats for Congress, while Jist-TIF Research predicts 45-51 seats. According to the Republic Bharat-Matrize exit poll, Congress is projected to secure between 55-62 seats, with the BJP trailing significantly with an estimated 18-24 seats. Congress is anticipated to capture about 44% of the vote share, while the BJP aims for around 37%.
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