Jagadhri is at the top of AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal’s Haryana election itinerary. He will hold a roadshow here on Friday afternoon, AAP sources told India Today TV.
Jagadhri is one of the four assembly constituencies located in Haryana’s Yamunanagar district. The question is, why is Kejriwal starting his election campaign from this constituency and not from other battlegrounds like Rohtak?
The answer lies in geographical location, demography, and political factors, such as the BJP’s declining vote share, infighting in the Congress, and the BSP’s presence in some pockets.
Kejriwal will address rallies and hold roadshows in at least 13 constituencies, including Ballabgarh, Assandh, Kalayat, Meham, Bhiwani, Rania, and Dabwali, across 11 Haryana districts.
Other constituencies near Jagadhri include Assandh and Kalayat. Kalayat is one of the four assembly segments where AAP performed exceptionally well in the recently held Kurukshetra Lok Sabha election and is one of the segments the party had demanded from Congress during alliance talks.
The election in Jagadhri is interesting due to its demographic features. It is located near the Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh borders and has a significant presence of Hindu OBC, Dalit, Muslim, and Sikh voters. The majority of voters in this constituency are Hindus, forming 86.71% of the electorate. Sikh and Muslim voters form 7.99% and 3.84% of the electorate, respectively.
AAP is targeting Dalit and Muslim voters, hoping to cut into Congress’s vote bank by taking advantage of dissension within the party. AAP leaders say that the Congress nominee, Akram Khan, belongs to Kumari Selja’s camp and may not receive support from the rival Hooda camp, a situation that is also playing out in other segments.
The sitting BJP MLA, Kanwarpal Gujjar, who won the 2014 and 2019 assembly elections, is facing a tough fight from the Congress and the INLD-BSP alliance. Gujjar’s vote share has been on a downward trend since 2019. He secured 44.70% of the votes in 2014, which dropped to 38.88% in 2019, a swing of 5.90%. It further declined in the Lok Sabha elections, as the party nominee lost this segment by over 14,000 votes.
Congress performed well during the 2024 Ambala Lok Sabha elections and won. The majority of the votes the BJP secured in the Lok Sabha elections came from urban pockets.
Interestingly, the BSP was the third-largest party in the 2019 assembly elections and performed well in this constituency.
The main contest in Jagadhri is between the BJP and the Congress, but AAP has also fielded Adarshpal Gujjar, the brother of former Haryana DGP KP Singh. Congress nominee Akram Khan represents the Muslim community, but AAP is targeting Dalits and other communities. Congress fears it may lose anti-BJP votes to AAP.
Source Agencies
