In The Assembly election results of Haryana, two urban seats on the border of Delhi — Gurgaon and Faridabad NIT — sprung a surprise, picking Independent candidates.

This was an election where the incumbent Congress was slated to hold sway — the Opposition being in disarray. So the victory of Independents who had recently struck out on their own — mostly as response to their parties' choice of candidates — was a surprise.

In the Gurgaon assembly seat, Sukhbir Kataria, who contested as an Independent candidate against Congress candidate Dharmabir Gauba, won by 2,140 votes. Kataria, who is from a Gurgaon village, had the support of almost 12,000 voters.

The Gurgaon constituency constitutes primarily of the old and new Gurgaon, divided by the National Highway 24. Its needs are primarily electricity, good roads, sanitation, street lights and security.

But as sitting legislator Gauba failed to perform, voters turned to Kataria. In the past, Kataria had promised to regularise the illegal colonies in Outer Gurgaon, build better infrastructure and had been accessible. He had also earned goodwill as a sarpanch of a Gurgaon village. He focused primarily on old Gurgaon and had the support of its residents. Kataria is also among the richest candidates in the state, and has declared assets worth almost Rs 30 crore. 

Having served as the INLD state youth vice-president, he resigned after the party decided to pitch MR Sharma. Confident of his popularity among the young, he chose to fight as an Independent.

... contd.