Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP) candidate Gopal Kanda defeated his nearest rival Gokul Setia, an Independent, by a slender margin of 602 votes from Sirsa in the Haryana Assembly polls on Thursday, according to the Election Commission (EC) office here.
Popular Haryanvi singer Sapna Chaudhary, who joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) recently, had campaigned for Kanda, leaving her party red-faced.
A former minister, Kanda is an influential politician in Haryana. His name had come up in a case of suicide by a woman employee of his airline company.
A video message of Chaudhary seeking support for Kanda had gone viral on the social media, catching the attention of BJP leaders, days before the polling on October 21.
The saffron party had fielded Pradip Ratusaria from Sirsa. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had addressed a rally in Sirsa district's Ellenabad on the last day of campaigning.