With the completion of the filing of nominations by the candidates on Thursday, the battle lines have been drawn in Haryana for the Assembly election.
The Congress leadership on Thursday cleared candidates for 89 seats, leaving one seat for the CPI(M) in the House of 90 seats in the State. The scrutiny of the nomination papers will be conducted on September 13 and nominations can be withdrawn till September 16.
The Congress has expressed confidence in two MPs’ sons in Kaithal district. It has fielded Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Surjewala’s son Aditya Surjewala and given ticket to Hisar MP Jai Parkash’s son Vikas Saharan from the Kalayat Assembly segment. Aditya is facing sitting MLA Leela Ram, while Vikas will contest against sitting MLA Kamlesh Dhanda. Congress has also fielded Devinder Hans from the Guhla (SC) Assembly segment, and former MLA Sultan Singh Jadola from Pundri. Hans contested as an Independent in 2019, finishing third with 29,473 votes. This time, he will be pitted against former MLA and BJP candidate Kulwant Ram Bazigar and JJP's Krishna Bazigar. Sultan Singh Jadola, who won the Pundri seat as an Independent in 2009, is also seeking to revive his political career with Congress’s backing. The Congress named former Deputy CM Chander Mohan as its candidate for the Panchkula seat, while the AAP has fielded Prem Garg and OP Gujjar from the Panchkula and Kalka seats, respectively.
In a surprising move, the BJP has dropped veteran leader and two-time party state president Ram Bilas Sharma (74) and named former district president Kanwar Singh Yadav its nominee from the Mahendragarh Assembly constituency, dominated by the Ahir community. In 42 years, it would be the first Assembly poll in Mahendragarh when Sharma would not be in the fray as a BJP candidate. Sharma, a former minister, began his electoral journey from Mahendragarh during the 1977 Assembly poll as a Janata Party candidate. He lost in a close contest, only to win the next four elections in a row in 1982, 1987, 1991 and 1996 on BJP ticket. On Wednesday, Sharma had — without waiting for the announcement of the ticket — filed his papers as the BJP candidate.
Days after the incumbent BJP in Haryana fielded its sitting MLA and minister Kamal Gupta from Hisar, party leader Savitri Jindal, 74, filed her nomination from the same constituency as an Independent candidate on Thursday.
Candidates file nomination after conducting rallies
Senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala’s son Aditya Surjewala and BJP candidate Shruti Choudhry, former chief minister Bansi Lal’s granddaughter, were among several leaders who filed nomination papers on Thursday being the last day of the nomination for Assembly polls. Former Haryana deputy chief minister and Congress candidate Chander Mohan filed his nomination papers from the Panchkula assembly seat. Aditya Surjewala filed his papers from the Kaithal assembly seat. He was accompanied by his father and Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Surjewala. BJP leader Shruti Choudhry filed her papers from the Tosham seat. She was accompanied by her mother and Rajya Sabha MP Kiran Choudhry and the BJP’s Haryana in-charge Biplab Kumar Deb. Congress nominee Ashok Arora filed his papers from the Thanesar seat. He was accompanied by senior party leader and former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
Rebellion, tears in Cong over denial of tickets
The rebellion grew in the Congress in Haryana after the party leadership cleared candidates for 89 seats, leaving one seat for the CPI(M) with at least 12 leaders quitting the party one after another in the last couple of days, citing the party’s indifference towards them despite their dedication. Congress MLA Lalit Nagar, who represented the Tigaon seat, was in tears after the party denied him a ticket on Thursday and quit the party forthwith. Nagar was replaced with Lalit Nagar, son of senior leader Yashpal Nagar. The change of nomination at the last minute upset Lalit Nagar, who convened a meeting with his supporters where he announced his decision to contest as an Independent candidate.
He told his supporters that he was hoping to get a ticket but “some conspirators stabbed me in the back”. In the 2014 elections, Lalit Nagar won the Tigaon seat by defeating the BJP's Rajesh Nagar. However, in the 2019 elections, Rajesh Nagar defeated Lalit Nagar. “Had my party nominated a strong candidate, I would have understood. But they have given the ticket to such a candidate whom people don't even know,” the former legislator added.
Former Panchkula Mayor and leader Upinder Kaur Ahluwalia, Sharda Rathore and Jitender Kumar Bhardwaj are among the ticket hopefuls who expressed resentment over the party’s decision. Rathore, a former MLA and ticket hopeful from Ballabhgarh, burst into tears in front of supporters on Thursday after she was denied a ticket by the Congress. Her supporters said she had been “betrayed” by the party.
Joining the race of rebels, party leader Jitender Kumar Bhardwaj, who was denied nomination from Sohna in Gurugram, wrote in a social media post, “Sorry friends, today, service, dedication and devotion have lost.” The Congress nominated Rohtash Khatana, who was previously associated with the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP).
Former minister Chaudhary Nirmal Singh’s daughter Chitra Sarwara left the Congress after she was denied a ticket from Ambala Cantonment. The party has fielded Parimal Pari from this seat.So did Rohita Revari, a former legislator from Panipat city, who resigned from the party after being denied a ticket. Justifying the decision of the leadership on ticket allocation, All India Congress General Secretary Kumari Selja on Thursday said when the tickets are distributed, “someone supports one person and someone supports another person.”
