Gurgaon: In the run-up to the Haryana assembly elections, the Congress party has finalized its candidates for 18 out of the 90 seats, as the Election Commission rescheduled the election date from October 1 to October 5. The party’s candidate selection process has been marked by intense competition among party members, with many vying for a chance to represent the Congress in the upcoming elections.
Despite the fierce competition, the Congress has decided to place its trust in nine sitting MLAs for these 18 seats. Among the most prominent candidates is former Chief Minister Bhupender Singh Hooda, who is set to contest from the Garhi-Sampla-Kiloi seat in Rohtak. Hooda’s candidacy was uncontested within the party, reflecting his strong influence and support base in the constituency.
Other incumbent MLAs who have secured the party’s nomination include BB Batra from Rohtak, Geeta Bhukkal from Jhajjar, Raghuvir Kadian from Beri, Chiranjeev Rao from Rewari, Aftab Ahmed from Nuh, Mohammad Ilyas from Punhana, Rao Dan Singh from Mahendragarh, and Induraj Bhalu from Baroda.
Sources within the party have indicated that the candidacies of Sheli Chaudhary from Narayangarh in Ambala and Neeraj Sharma from Faridabad NIT are nearly finalized. Kuldeep Vats from Badli, a close associate of Hooda, is also expected to secure a ticket.
In addition to the sitting MLAs, Congress is set to renominate four candidates who narrowly lost in the 2019 assembly elections. These candidates include Ashok Arora from Thanesar, Karan Singh Dalal from Palwal, Lakhan Singla from Faridabad, and Chaudhary Vijay Pratap Singh from Badkhal. Ashok Arora, in particular, lost by a narrow margin of 819 votes to BJP’s Subhash Sudha in 2019, while Vijay Pratap Singh trailed behind BJP’s Seema Trikha by 2,545 votes.
In Rohtak’s Meham constituency, the party has decided to replace the 2019 candidate Anand Singh Dangi with his son, Balram Dangi, who expressed his desire to contest the upcoming elections.
The Congress had invited applications from party members interested in contesting the assembly polls as early as July. Over the following month, the party received an overwhelming 2,556 applications for 90 seats. Some constituencies saw as many as 40 aspirants, making it a challenging task for the party’s high command to shortlist candidates.
With the announcement of these candidates, the Congress party is now gearing up for a fierce electoral battle in Haryana, where the competition promises to be intense.
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