Though Sirsa, one of the two reserved Lok Sabha constituencies in Haryana has been a stronghold of Chautalas, who lead Indian National Lok Dal in the state, this time the situation could be different with the weakening of the party after a split.

The INLD, which was fighting the 2014 Lok Sabha polls with its back to the wall after the conviction of party chief OP Chautala and his son Ajay Singh Chautala in JBT teachers’ recruitment case, had managed to secure Sirsa seat in the elections.

INLD’s Sikh candidate Charanjeet Singh Rori had won the Sirsa parliamentary seat, trouncing his nearest rival Congress’ Ashok Tanwar by more than 1.15 lakh votes. Sushil Indora of Haryana Janhit Congress, an alliance partner of the BJP in 2014 Lok Sabha polls, had finished at third spot.

However, with the formation of JJP and the decision of Bahujan Samaj Party to part ways with INLD, the situation could take a different turn this time round.

Sirsa Lok Sabha seat cover the entire Sirsa and Fatehabad districts and part of Jind district and  is a Dalit dominated seat with more than 7 lakh Dalit voters, over 3.4 lakh Punjabi and Sikh voters and around 3.34 lakh Jat voters.

A major section of Jats in Haryana are considered as supporters of INLD led by Chautalas.

This parliamentary constituency had witnessed an intense four-cornered contest in last general elections.

Charanjeet Singh Rori, who managed to record victory in Chautala’s bastion—Sirsa, was polled 5.06 lakh votes (39.59 percent) followed by Congress’ Ashok Tanwar, who secured 3.90 lakh votes (30.54 percent), Sushil Indore of HJC recorded 2.41 lakh votes (18.85) and AAP’s Poonam Chand Ratti was polled 66844 votes (5 percent) 

While the Modi wave was visible to some extent in urban areas of Sirsa, it was not a big issue in rural areas of the constituency, where the votes were divided between the INLD and the Congress. An aggressive campaign by INLD in its bastion and sympathy over conviction of its two top leaders had worked for the party in 2014 polls, say political experts.

Despite a strong Modi-wave, BJP’s alliance partner HJC’s candidate Sushil Indora had finished third by polling less than half the votes polled by Charanjit Singh Rori. On the other hand, slipping of urban voters from the Congress to HJC also resulted in defeat of Ashok Tanwar, who is Haryana Congress chief and had represented the Sirsa constituency from 2009-2014, they say.

Top leaders of Punjab’s Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) — former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal — having family ties with Chautalas, had also backed INLD’s Sikh candidate in Sirsa.

Sirsa Lok Sabha constituency has nine assembly segments including Narwana (SC), Tohana, Fatehabad, Ratia (SC), Kalanwali (SC), Dabwali, Rania, Sirsa and Ellenabad.

Rori had led in seven segments while Tanwar and Indore had managed to maintain their lead in Tohana and Fatehabad segments respectively.

In previous 2009 Lok Sabha polls, Ashok Tanwar had won the Sirsa seat with a margin of over 35,000 votes by defeating Sita Ram of the INLD at a time when Chautalas’ outfit had contested the parliamentary elections in alliance with the BJP.

Congress’ popular dalit face, Kumari Seja had represented the Sirsa seat twice from 1991 to 1998. The former Union Minister Selja had later shifted to Ambala parliamentary seat and became a Rajya Sabha MP in 2014.

In the past, Atma Singh Gill of Congress represented the constituency from 2004-09 while Sushil Kumar Indore, who contested on INLD ticket had won in 1996 and 1998 polls.

The Sirsa parliamentary constituency has more than 17.51 lakh voters, as per the latest data with Election Commission.

Congress state unit chief Ashok Tanwar has already evinced interest to contest the ensuing Lok Sabha polls from the Sirsa seat and seen as a frontrunner for the party ticket.

Having lost in the last general polls, Tanwar had in the past five years focused on Sirsa constituency and addressed many public meetings besides launching several party’s campaigns there.

In 2014, Tanwar had blamed treachery by some party leaders and anti-incumbency of the Congress led Haryana Government for the party’s severe drubbing in Lok Sabha polls in Haryana, where the party had managed to win only one seat out of 10.

The humiliating defeat of the party in Lok Sabha polls and assembly polls held later that year in Haryana had also led to a bitter feud between Tanwar and former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who headed Congress’ Government in Haryana from 2004-2014.

The sitting MP Charanjeet Singh Rori is seen as INLD’s safe bet for the Sirsa Lok Sabha seat while the search for candidates is on in BJP and Jannayak Janta Party, which a breakaway faction

of INLD.

While many senior leaders have joined the JJP formed by Hisar MP Dushyant Chautala and his father former MP Ajay Chautala, Sirsa MP Rori has so far stayed with the INLD led by Leader of opposition and INLD’s senior leader Abhay Chautala.

Last 5 representatives of Sirsa parliamentary seat

2014-incumbent: Charanjeet Singh Rorti (INLD)

2009-2014: Ashok Tanwar (Congress)

2004-2009: Atma Singh Gill (Congress)

1999-04: Sushil Kumar Indora (INLD)

1998-99: Sushil Kumar Indore (INLD)