Julana Assembly Poll Results: Vinesh Phogat Defeats BJP's Yogesh Kumar

Julana Assembly Poll Results LIVE: Olympic wrestler and Congress candidate Vinesh Phogat has emerged victorious in her debut election as she won the Julana Assembly seat in the Haryana elections.

She defeated her nearest rival Yogesh Kumar from the BJP by a margin of 6,015 votes, according to the Election Commission.

The counting of votes polled in the October 5 Haryana elections began at 8 am on Tuesday.

Phogat, representing the Congress party, faced competition from Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) candidate Kavita Dalal, popularly known as 'Lady Khali'-the first Indian woman wrestler to compete in WWE-and Yogesh Kumar, a former Indian Army officer and commercial pilot.

Kumar currently serves as the vice president of BJP's youth wing, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM).

Phogat, whose in-laws are from Julana, has been projected by Congress as the 'bahu' (daughter-in-law) of the region. Meanwhile, Dalal is appealing to voters as Julana's 'beti' (daughter). All three candidates are in their 30s and are participating in their first election. They are challenging sitting MLA Amarjeet Dhanda, who is seeking re-election on a Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) ticket.

Julana, considered a Jat stronghold in Haryana, has over 1.85 lakh voters, with 40% from the Jat community. Brahmin and Scheduled Caste communities also make up a significant portion of the electorate.

It has to be noted that the Congress has struggled in Julana, losing the last three Assembly elections. In 2019, the party managed to secure just 12,440 votes, coming in third behind the JJP and BJP.

Despite Phogat winning the seat, the Congress is staring at a shock defeat, which will be a third in a row, if we go by the current trends.

The Election Commission data claims that the BJP is leading in 49 while the Congress is heading in 36.