BJP's New Haryana MLA - Sunil Sangwan, Jail Officer Who Gave Ram Rahim 6 Paroles

The BJP has a new MLA in Haryana's Dadri - Sunil Sangwan, the ex-Haryana prison official who granted parole - six times - to Dera Sacha Sauda chief and rape convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim.

Sangwan narrowly defeated the Congress' Manisha Sangwan - the margin was 1,957 votes.

This is the first time the BJP has won this seat.

In 2014 it was won by Somveer Sangwan, an independent candidate earlier with the party, and Rajdeep Phogat of the Indian National Lok Dal claimed the seat in the 2009 election.

Ram Rahim was given a 21-day furlough last month - his 10th in the past two years.

His parole was red-flagged by the Congress, which told the poll panel his release by the Haryana government would violate the Model Code of Conduct in place during an election.

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Rahim is supposed to be serving a 20-year sentence in a jail in Haryana's Rohtak.

He was released on October 2 - three days before voting in Haryana - after which newspaper reports emerged of his followers, spread across six districts, being told to vote for the BJP.

The Dadri victory was one of 48 by BJP candidates that enabled the party to pull off a thrilling comeback Tuesday evening to win a third straight Assembly election in the heartland state.

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The Congress had raced into an early lead and even crossed the halfway mark - 46 seats - at one point. But by 10 am the numbers had reversed and it was the BJP in front.

The ruling party then pulled away to record a historic hat-trick; this is the first time any party has won three consecutive Assembly elections in the state.

The Congress was left fuming and searching for answers amid claims of tampering with the EVMs, or electronic voting machines. The party also questioned the Election Commission over "an unexplained slowdown in updating of results" on its website for two hours till 11 am.

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The charge was dismissed; the EC said it "unequivocally rejects attempt to surreptitiously give credence to irresponsible, unfounded, and uncorroborated malafide narratives".

Eventually the BJP finished with 48 of Haryana's 90 Assembly seats in its pocket. The Congress, shaken by an internal squabble between Bhupinder Hooda and Kumari Selja, over ticket distribution and who would become Chief Minister, if the party won, finished with 37 seats.

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