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.

What also refurbished his “young” image was the Congress candidate — 77-year-old Gauba — who cashed in on the emotional quotient of voters last time, saying it was the last election he was contesting.

“Gauba has failed to perform,” said Kuldeep Singh, a resident of Sector-15 in old Gurgaon. “The first few years he complained about the Chautala government and then grew too old to deliver.” Rakesh Garg, a kiosk owner in Sector-14, Gurgaon, said: “Kataria has not forgotten us, unlike our legislator. He was a regular face and has worked to provide us with clean water.”

Faridabad
In Faridabad, similar was the fate of Congress candidate AC Chaudhary, whom the party decided to shift from his home constituency Badkhal to Faridabad NIT. The voters were happy with the performance of senior deputy mayor Shivcharan Lal Sharma, who succeeded in making provisions for sewage, drinking water and roads. Since the Congress chose Chaudhary, Sharma decided to contest as an Independent. He won by 7,875 votes. Haryana has seen its urban areas expand rapidly and in areas close to Delhi, that has been cited as a top priority by the Hooda regime. The results in the urban stretch, hence, must be a double disappointment for Congress.