BJP's sitting MP from Sonipat Kaushik emerges giant killer, defeats veteran Congressman B S Hooda

CHANDIGARH: BJP's sitting MP from Sonipat Ramesh Chander Kaushik emerged as a giant killer defeating Congress veteran and former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda by a margin of 1,64,864 votes.

The loss of the 71-year-old leader from Sonipat dealt a big blow to the Congress in Haryana, where it faces a rout.

Hooda, who had been twice chief minister of the state from 2005-2014, is at present a sitting MLA of the Congress from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi in Rohtak district.

He had jumped into the fray from Sonipat, contesting the Lok Sabha polls after a gap of 14 years. Earlier, he had remained a four-time MP from the Rohtak parliamentary seat. During his heydays, he even had defeated former deputy prime minister Devi Lal from there.

When asked what factors he felt worked in his favour, Kaushik said, "The people saw the works done by the central and the state governments."

"The people were impressed with our policies and a strong and decisive leadership we gave. If I talk about Haryana, our government brought transparency in all spheres of the administration. We gave jobs on merit and laid thrust on e-governance," he said.

Kaushik also said a number of developmental works were carried out in Sonipat, which eventually put him on a strong footing despite facing a veteran leader of the rival party.