The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday released its list of three candidates for the upcoming Haryana assembly elections. The saffron party fielded Satish Fagna from Faridabad NIT. The ruling party named Kanwar Singh Yadav for the Mahendragarh constituency, while Rohtash Jangra for the Sirsa seat. BJP veteran and former minister Ram Bilas Sharma was a strong contender for Mahendragarh but the party backed Kanwar Singh Yadav.
BJP announces names 90 candidates for Haryana polls
Earlier yesterday (on Tuesday), the BJP announced a second list of candidates for the Haryana Assembly polls, denying tickets to two ministers and replacing its nominee for the Pehowa seat.
The BJP released its first list of 67 candidates for the 90-member Assembly on September 4, fielding Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini from the Ladwa seat and rewarding several recent entrants to the party with poll tickets.
In its first list of candidates announced on September 4, the BJP nominated Kamaljeet Singh Ajrana for the Pehowa seat but replaced him with Jai Bhagwan Sharma in the second list. Incumbent MLA of Pehowa and former minister Sandeep Singh has been denied re-nomination. Ajrana is learnt to have faced stiff opposition to his candidature from some aspirants.
The BJP denied ticket to Minister Banwari Lal, who represented Bawal in the outgoing Assembly, and fielded Krishna Kumar in his place. School Education Minister Seema Trikha, the incumbent MLA of Badhkal, has also been denied re-nomination. Dhanesh Adlakha has been nominated for the seat.
However, another minister Sanjay Singh, the MLA from Sohna, has been given ticket from Nuh. The party has fielded Tejpal Tanwar from Sohna. The ruling party also denied tickets to the sitting MLAs from Ganaur, Pataudi, Hathin and Hodal seats. A new candidate has been named for the Rai assembly segment, after incumbent legislator and Haryana BJP chief Mohan Lal Badoli made it clear that he would not contest the polls and instead work to ensure the party's victory.
While eight women figured in the first list of candidates, the BJP's second list has two women -- Krishna Gahlawat from the Rai seat and Bimla Chaudhary from the Pataudi (SC) segment. Bimla Chaudhary replaced Satya Prakash Jarawata who was denied renomination while Devender Kaushik has been given ticket for the Ganaur seat, replacing sitting MLA Nirmal Chaudhary.
In the Julana assembly segment, Capt Yogesh Bairagi has been fielded against Congress' wrestler-turned-politician Vinesh Phogat while Amit Chand Mehta will contest from Ellenabad from where INLD senior leader Abhay Singh Chautala is seeking re-election.
Harinder Singh Ramrattan will take on Haryana Congress president Udai Bhan from the Hodal reserve segment. The party has fielded former ministers Krishan Kumar Bedi, Manish Grover and Om Prakash Yadav from Narwana, Rohtak and Narnaul seats, respectively.
The BJP has fielded Pawan Saini, considered close to Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, from the Naraingarh seat while Satpal Jamba has been nominated from Pundri.
Yogender Rana has been fielded from Assandh, Pradeep Sangwan from Baroda, Baldev Singh Mangiana from Dabwali seat and Naseem Ahmed from Ferozepur Jhirka. Aizaz Khan has been fielded from Punhana while Manoj Rawat will contest from Hathin.
Former Haryana BJP chief Om Prakash Dhankar, who is the party's national secretary, had been fielded from Badli while veteran party leader Anil Vij will seek re-election from his Ambala Cantt stronghold. Shruti Choudhry, grand-daughter of former chief minister Bansi Lal, who joined the ruling party recently, is contesting from the Tosham.
After the BJP announced its first list of 67 candidates, it faced rebellion within its ranks with Minister Ranjit Singh Chautala and MLA Lakshman Dass Napa quitting the party after being denied ticket. A few other aspirants who were also denied tickets had raised a banner of revolt.
(With PTI inputs)
Also read: Haryana Cabinet recommends Governor to dissolve assembly ahead of polls
