Panipat, a key industrial area in Haryana, is famously called the "City of Weavers" and the "Textile City." Known for its rich textile industry, it is now gearing up for the 2024 Haryana Assembly elections, with a total of 11 candidates in the fray for the Panipat City (General) Assembly seat.

The seat was won by BJP's Parmod Kumar Vij who received 81750 votes. INC's Varinder Kumar Shah received 46078 votes; winning margin was around 35672 votes.

Who are the candidates?

Parmod Kumar Vij from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is contesting against Varinder Kumar Shah from Indian National Congress (INC)

Here’s the list of other candidates standing for the 2024 elections:

Bhateri Devi from Rashtriya Mazdoor Ekta Party (RMEP), CA Jagdish Dhamija (Independent), Dilbag Singh Krantikari (Independent), Himanshu Sharma(Independent), Ramesh Kumar Chaudhary(Independent), Ritu Arora from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Rohita Rewri (Independent), Saroj Bala Gur from Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Sawami Agnivesh(Independent)

Pressing issues

Despite the strong political competition, local issues are at the forefront of voters' minds. Residents of Panipat City face problems like potholes, waterlogging, bad air quality, and water pollution, which have become key topics in the election debate.

Electoral size

As of the 2019 Haryana Assembly election, the total number of voters in Panipat City stood at 220,440. However, only 55.49 percent of the voters turned out to cast their votes in that election.

Who won the last elections?

The BJP has held a strong position in this constituency in recent years. In the 2019 Haryana Assembly elections, Parmod Kumar Vij from the BJP won the seat by defeating Sanjay Aggarwal from the INC. Vij secured a margin of 39,545 votes, which accounted for 32.33 percent of the total votes cast in that election. The BJP had a significant vote share of 62.84 percent in 2019.

Similarly, in the 2014 Haryana Assembly elections, Rohita Rewri of the BJP won against Virender Kumar Shah of INC. She won with a margin of 53,721 votes, which was 38.51 percent of the total votes. The BJP’s vote share in 2014 was 66.49 percent, showcasing their continued dominance in the area.