Haryana Bypolls: Abhay Chautala, Who Quit Over Farm Laws, Eyes Victory
NDTV
The bypoll for the Ellenabad seat in Haryana's Sirsa district was held because Abhay Chautala quit the seat in January in solidarity with farmers' protests against the centre's farm laws
INLD (Indian National Lok Dal) leader Abhay Chautala narrowly leads the race for Haryana's Ellenabad Assembly constituency, with a lead of less than 3,000 votes from the ruling BJP's Gobind Kanda.
The BJP's second place (for now) comes despite Mr Kanda's candidacy being backed by the party's ally - the Jannayak Janata Party - which is headed by the INLD leader's nephew, Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala.
The Congress' Pawan Beniwal is set to finish a distant third. Mr Beniwal recently joined the Congress from the BJP, after having unsuccessfully contested the last full Assembly election from this seat.
The bypoll for the seat in Sirsa district, whose residents depend on agriculture, was held Saturday, and was only needed because Abhay Chautala had in January resigned in solidarity with farmers.
