CONSTITUENCY PROFILE

Punhana is a town in Nuh district in Mewat region of Haryana. The assembly constituency is bounded by Gurugram district to

Nuh the north, Palwal district to the east and Alwar district of Rajasthan to the south and west.

Ferozepur It is the largest among the three

Jhirka assembly constituencies which make up the Mewat district. Meo Muslims, who are largely agriculturalists, are concentrated in the constituency. Punhana tehsil was created in 1994 and became a part of the Mewat district when it was created in December 2004.

WHY IS IT A HOT SEAT?

The constituency is all set to witness a high-stakes contest between 3-time former MLA and state minister Mohammed Ilyas of Congress, 28-year-old BJP candidate Nauksham Chaudhary, among the youngest candidate in the fray and a Hindu face in a constituency which has been a tough nut to crack for the BJP so far, and independent candidate Rahish Khan, who won from the seat in 2014.

PAST POLL OUTCOMES 2014:

Independent candidate Rahish Khan defeated INLD’s Mohammed Ilyas with 3141 votes.

2009: INLD’s Mohammad Ilyas defeated nearest rival Dayawati of BSP with 2688 votes.

CASTE EQUATIONS

Punhana has around 63% Muslim, 3-4% Baniya, 14% Backward Class, and around 8% Scheduled Caste population, according to political analysts. Additionally, the Meo community in the region is divided into different Gotra (sub-caste) and Pal, which play a crucial role in determining the votes. The community is divided into 12 pal, which demonstrate the distinct identity and spatial spread of the community. The BJP candidate in the fray belongs to Demrot Pal, whereas all other major candidates belong to the Chirklot Pal. The Chirklot Pal includes more members than the Demrot Pal.