Macro win was Micro managed

A day after the results of the Haryana Legislative Assembly elections were declared on Tuesday, several leaders who lost by narrow margins were left wondering what went wrong and how.

- Ajay Jha

Out of 90 constituencies, in 19 seats, the margin of victory was less than 5,000 votes. Of these, Il seats saw margins of defeat under 2,500 votes, with three constituencies determined by fewer than 1,000 votes deciding the fates of the victor and the vanquished.

Notably, the Congress party which continues to refuse to accept its defeat by blaming the establishment for manipulating the EVMs, holds the distinction of witnessing both the highest margin of victory and the lowest margin of defeat.

Former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda won his Garhi Sampla Kiloi seat by a substantial margin of 71,465 votes while his distant relative Brijendra Singh, son of popular Jat leader Chaudhary Birender Singh, lost the Uchana Kalan seat by a wafer-thin margin of 32 votes to BJP nominee Devender Attri.

While smaller margins between victory and defeat are common in states with smaller populations, the exceptionally high number of seats witnessing close contests in a mid-size state like Haryana has baffled many.

For the record, out of 17 seats where the margin between defeat and victory was less than 2,500 votes, the BJP won eight, Congress seven, and the erstwhile ruling Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) two.

This might give the impression that Lady Luck played tricks on both major parties.