The Karnal Lok Sabha seat is considered politically significant and prestigious. It has a unique history associated with Karnal and Panipat. Panipat, known for three historical battles, witnessed a significant conflict between Mohammed Ghori and Prithviraj Chauhan. The fort of Prithviraj Chauhan still stands in Tarawadi.
Several villages in Karnal district fall within the 48-kilometer boundary of Dharmakshetra-Kurukshetra. Karnal boasts many large factories, while Panipat is famous for its handloom industry worldwide. Currently, Sanjay Bhatia, a prominent leader of the BJP, represents this constituency in the Lok Sabha.
Sanjay Bhatia has been associated with the BJP since his college days, actively involved with the ABVP. After becoming the Mandal Secretary in 1987, he later served as the district secretary of ABVP in 1989. In 1998, Sanjay Bhatia was appointed as the State General Secretary of the BJP Youth Wing. He shares a close association with Haryana’s CM Manohar Lal Khattar.
Although he has contested two assembly elections without success, Sanjay Bhatia’s performance in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections was remarkable. In his debut Lok Sabha election, he defeated his opponent by a margin of 6.54%. This victory marked the largest margin in the history of the state, surpassing the record set by Pritam Munde in the previous Lok Sabha elections.
Karnal is known as the city of Karna, and it holds significance for being the constituency where former CM Bhajan Lal faced defeat. Even BJP stalwart Sushma Swaraj was keen on winning from Karnal. The Congress has a stronghold on this seat, having won 11 out of 17 elections conducted here. However, BJP’s influence has strengthened in recent years.
Karnal Lok Sabha constituency comprises nine assembly segments. The pace of development in Karnal is quite rapid, and it is famous for markets of grains, cotton, and salt. The primary crop grown here is rice.
Despite visible development in all assembly segments, people complain that the progress they witness is not due to the efforts of their Member of Parliament but rather a continuous process. The voters trust more in the development card than the caste card.
In the 2014 elections, BJP candidate Ashwini Kumar Chopra won from Karnal. However, in 2019, Sanjay Bhatia secured victory for BJP, and interestingly, both winners were not Brahmins. This indicates a shift in voter preference towards development over caste considerations.
Karnal Lok Sabha constituency has approximately 1.9 million voters. People acknowledge that the development in the region has improved due to central policies. However, there is dissatisfaction among the public regarding the absence of their representatives.
Several long-standing issues persist, and the 2024 general elections for the Karnal Lok Sabha seat are anticipated with great interest. The electorate is expected to carefully evaluate the work of their MP before casting their votes. India News is conducting an accurate survey to gauge the opinion of the public and present it before the nation.
We evaluate parliamentary performance based on MP fund expenditure and special contributions. Sanjay Bhatia’s presence in Parliament is around 80%. Additionally, he actively participates in approximately 91% of parliamentary debates and questions, consistently raising queries for the development of his constituency and the nation. In terms of MP fund utilization, he has spent around 92%, and his special contributions to parliamentary proceedings are approximately 65%. Based on these criteria, Sanjay Bhatia scores 1 in our assessment, equivalent to 0.82, which is excellent.
While parliamentary performance may have limited significance during elections, the real measure is the public’s perception of their representative. In a survey conducted by India News in Karnal Lok Sabha constituency, respondents provided candid responses. After engaging with thousands of people, the public’s verdict is awaited.
Responding to our six questions, Karnal Lok Sabha constituents express their opinions without reservation. Many believe that the MP’s work in the constituency is average. The focus on development, which was evident earlier, seems to have diminished. Clearly, public sentiment towards the MP is mixed, with both satisfaction and dissatisfaction. However, the local population desires to see their MP more actively involved in the constituency, as there were high expectations from the elected representative. When it comes to voting preferences, the majority leans towards the BJP, indicating approval of the Modi government’s work. Based on development indicators, Karnal Lok Sabha constituents give their MP, Sanjay Bhatia, a rating of 7, translating to 3.71, which is above average.
Therefore, the ground-level survey indicates a score of around 53%, which is higher than the average.
In the India News survey of Karnal Lok Sabha constituents, the questions align with our ground-level inquiry regarding the MP’s performance. The results show that the public rates the MP’s ground-level performance at 1, giving him 0.35, which is quite low.
Parliamentary performance, ground-level representation, and the India News survey provide a comprehensive view of the MP’s standing. In parliamentary activities such as attendance, questioning, fund utilization, and special contributions, the MP scores 0.82. In ground-level representation, the MP scores 0.35, and in the India News survey, he scores 0.30. Combining all these scores, Sanjay Bhatia receives a rating of 3.71 in the ground survey, and if averaged, it equates to 5.18. Consequently, Karnal Lok Sabha constituents express their judgment on Sanjay Bhatia’s report card as “FIFTY-FIFTY,” indicating a neutral stance – neither a clear pass nor a clear fail.
Engaging with thousands of people in the Karnal Lok Sabha constituency, India News has presented these figures to its audience. These include opinions from various demographics, such as women, men, farmers, labourers, students, and business people. Karnal Lok Sabha MP Sanjay Bhatia is receiving more than 50% and less than 60% on our scale, leading to a verdict that falls exactly in the middle, neither passing nor failing.
