Punahana, Haryana Result: As the results have been declared, Congress' Mohammed Ilyas has won 816 votes. Independent candidate Rahish Khan is defeated.
In this constituency, there are two prominent political parties – BJP and Congress. In 2009, it was Mohammed Ilyas of the INLD who won in the electoral race by a margin of 2,688 votes. But in 2014, Ilyas lost to Rahish Khan, who contested as an Independent contender and obtained 34,281 votes.
However, this year, the BJP decided to break off the mould by putting up a debutante Hindu Dalit woman candidate, Nauksham Chaudhary (28). On the other hand, the Congress has placed its bet on three-time MLA Ilyas, a turncoat who joined the grand old party during the Lok Sabha polls after quitting the INLD and JJP in quick succession.
Sitting MLA Rahish Khan, who had joined the BJP hoping to get a party ticket, too, has jumped into the fray, once again as an Independent. While the INLD has pitted Subhan Khan and it's splinter outfit Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) has fielded Iqbal.
