The HJC-BJP combine nominee Mr Kuldeep Bishnoi today won the prestigious Hisar Lok Sabha by-election in Haryana in a closely-fought battle in which Team Anna sought a crushing defeat for the Congress that was pushed to a far third position.

Mr Bishnoi (42), son of former Haryana Chief Minister Bhajan Lal whose death caused the bypoll, retained the seat for the party defeating his nearest rival INLD’s Mr Ajay Singh Chautala (50), son of former Chief Minister Mr Om Parkash Chautala, by a margin of 6,323 votes, out of the over nine lakh votes polled.

Ruling Congress nominee and three-time MP from Hisar Mr Jai Prakash (58), a former Union Minister, finished third. He had won the seat last in 2004 as Congress nominee.

Mr Bishnoi, whose Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) tied up with BJP, secured 3,55,941 votes followed by Mr Chautala with 3,49,618 votes and way behind was Mr Jai Parkash, who polled 1,49,785 votes. It was essentially a triangular contest in a field with 40 candidates and a total electorate of 13.32 lakh.

With the jury still out on whether Anna Hazare and his team’s anti-Congress campaign helped him, Mr Bishnoi claimed it had no impact on his performance while the Congress said Hisar was always a bastion of some groups in the state and it put up a good fight.

Leading Team Anna member Mr Arvind Kejriwal, who hails from Hisar and held an intensive campaign against Congress in the constituency, “it is a referendum on Jan Lokpal Bill. Congress should take a lesson and now pass Jan Lokpal Bill.”

He said Team Anna had nothing to do with the victory of Mr Bishnoi.

While Mr Hazare sought defeat for Congress through a video appeal, Mr Kejriwal was helped in the campaign by other key members of Team Anna Ms Kiran Bedi and Mr Manish Sisodia.

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