Chandigarh, Oct 23 - One was a nurse who ran her campaign riding a motorcycle. Another is known for her flamboyance in politics and social life. A third has been listed by Forbes magazine as one of India's richest women. They are among the nine women elected Thursday to the 90-member Haryana assembly.

In a state that has one of the worst sex ratios in the country with just around 800 females per 1,000 males, 67 women were in the poll fray among 1,222 contenders this time.

Seven of the nine new women legislators are from the Congress. There is one each from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD).

They are Sumita Singh from Karnal, Savitri Jindal from Hisar, Kiran Chaudhary from Tosham, Shakuntala Khatak from Kalanaur, Geeta from Jhajjar, Anita Yadav from Ateli, Sharda Rathore from Ballabhgarh (all from Congress), Kavita Jain (BJP) from Sonepat and Saroj (INLD) from Narnaund.

First-time legislator Shakuntala Khatak, who rode her motorcycle herself as she campaigned in the Kalanaur (reserved) assembly seat in Rohtak district, was a nurse who became close to Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda's family after she nursed his ailing father Ranbir Singh.

Specially chosen by the Congress for the Kalanaur seat, she won by 27,860 votes.

Khatak will now rub shoulders with the likes of Savitri Jindal, named by Forbes magazine as one of the richest women in India, and the flamboyant Kiran Chaudhary, daughter-in-law of Haryana strongman and former chief Bansi Lal.

Jindal is the head of the multibillion Jindal steel empire and mother of young Congress MP, Naveen Jindal. She has been re-elected from the Hisar assembly seat. The seat was earlier represented by her industrialist husband O. P. Jindal who died in a helicopter crash March 2005.

Flamboyant minister Kiran Chaudhary returned with the second highest margin among all winners Thursday. She beat her rival by over 46,000 votes. It was second only to the 72,000-vote margin secured by chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Among women winners, Anita Yadav (Congress) beat Santosh Yadav (BJP) for the Ateli seat by the lowest margin of 973 votes.

Since the first assembly election in Haryana in 1967, the highest number of 93 women candidates contested in 1996. Only four of them won.

There were 11 women in the previous assembly. (IANS)