BJP's Manohar Lal Khattar secures decisive victory in Karnal, defeats Congress' Divyanshu Budhiraja by 739,285 votes

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar won the Karnal constituency in the Lok Sabha election by a margin of 739,285 votes, according to the Election Commission of India (ECI). Khattar, the first BJP Chief Minister of Haryana, secured 506,708 votes, while his opponent, Congress' Divyanshu Budhiraja, received 232,577 votes.

The 70-year-old Khattar ran for parliamentary elections for the first time after serving as Chief Minister from October 26, 2014, until his resignation on March 12, 2024. Upon being nominated for the Lok Sabha elections, Khattar resigned as MLA from the Karnal Assembly constituency, paving the way for his successor, Nayab Saini, the party’s state president.

From RSS Pracharak to Chief Minister

Khattar's political journey began in 1977 when he joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He became a full-time pracharak (worker) in 1980 and served for fourteen years before joining the BJP in 1994. 

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In 2014, Khattar made his electoral debut and was elected to the Haryana Legislative Assembly from the Karnal constituency. He also served as the chairman of the BJP's Haryana Election Campaign Committee for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. During a public gathering in Gurugram on March 11, Prime Minister Modi spoke about his long friendship with Khattar, recalling how they used to take motorcycle rides in Haryana and work together for the RSS.

Previous election and constituency details

In the 2019 elections, the Karnal Lok Sabha seat was won by BJP’s Sanjay Bhatia, who defeated Congress candidate Kuldip Sharma by a significant margin of 50.44%. The Karnal Lok Sabha constituency comprises nine assembly segments: Gharaunda, Panipat City, Karnal, Panipat Rural, Indri, Assandh, Israna, Nilokheri, and Samalkha.

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The Lok Sabha elections were held in seven phases, starting from April 19, with the last phase on June 1. The Bharatiya Janata Party is seeking a rare third term at the Centre with Narendra Modi as Prime Minister.