The main Opposition party in Haryana, Indian National lok Dal (INlD) on Friday released its first list of 62 candidates for the Assembly elections to the 90 member Haryana Assembly. Giving importance to the Jat vote bank, the party gave tickets to 18 Jat candidates in its first list.
Abhay Chautala, MlA and son of INlD Chief Om Prakash Chautala, said the list of candidates is being released after the approval of party president Om Prakash Chautala. He said the party president was given the sole authority to choose the names of candidates for all 90 assembly constituencies in Haryana. “The names of candidates have been selected among five aspirants from each constituency”, added Abhay Chautala.
Haryana INlD president Ashok Arora, who was present on the occasion, said that the first list among others includes 10 women, 11 youth and members of various castes and communities. The remaining 28 names would also be announced soon, he said.
Amongst those who have got party tickets, 13 are from the Scheduled Caste, five Punjabis, 18 Jats, 5 from the Vaishya community, 3 each to Sikhs and Kamboj, two each to Ahirs and Muslims and one each to Brahmins, Rajputs, Rors, Kumhars and Kashyaps. Abhay would re-contest from Elenabad constituency in Sirsa district and he himself would seek re-election from Thanesar in Kurukshetra district, Arora said.
The other key contestants include former Minister Jaswinder Singh Sandhu (Pehowa), former MlA Kulbir Beniwal (Adampur) and former minister Jagdish Yadav (Hodal).Abhay said that ruling Congress was facing exits of senior party leader while BJP was finding it difficult to nominate candidates for all the 90 seats. “In the given circumstances INlD expects to form the next Government in the State,” he said.
The first list of candidates has names of 16 sitting MlAs, Besides Arora and Abhay Singh Chautala, Ganga Ram for Pataudi (SC), Naseem Ahmad for Ferozpur Jhirka, Mohammad Illyas for Punhana, Subhash Chaudhary for Palwal, Jagdish Nayyar for Hodel (SC), Narender Sangwan for Gharaunda, Mamu Ram Gonder for Nilokheri (SC), Dilbag Singh for Yamunanagar, Pardeep Chaudhary for Kalka, Pirthi Singh for Narwana (SC), Harichand Midha for Jind, Kali Ram for Safidon, Parminder Singh Dhull for Julana and Rajbir Singh is from Mullana. Besides these it also included former MlAs, MPs and officer bearers too.
INlD did not give tickets to five sitting MlAs, including Krishan lal Panwar from Israna (SC), Ashok Kashyap from Indri, Krishan lal from Rania, Dharam Pal from loharu and Saroj from Narnaund. It also didn’t consider the name of sitting MlA from Kalayat and senior leader of INlD Ram Pal Majra in its first list.
Abhay Chautala said INlD will not get into any alliance. Criticising the BJP, he said it won the lok Sabha elections in the name of Modi only and people chose it as an alternative to Congress. “BJP in Haryana has no base,” he claimed.
Chautala also announced that INlD will release its party manifesto on August 2.