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Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi with party President Mallikarjun Kharge and party MP K C Venugopal during meeting with party secretaries and joint secretaries, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024. (Photo: PTI)
The Congress on Sunday issued a new list of candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections in Haryana, revealing nine new names for key constituencies such as Tosham and Gurugram.
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2) In its latest list, the Congress fielded cricket administrator-turned-politician Anirudh Chaudhary from Tosham constituency. This is expected to ensure a high-stakes poll battle in the seat, where the BJP has fielded Shruti Choudhry. Both contenders are cousins and grandchildren of former Haryana chief minister Bansi Lal.
3) The Congress named Brijendra Singh from Uchana Kalan, where sitting JJP MLA Dushyant Chautala will try to hold his ground. Singh is the son of former Union Minister Birender Singh.
4) Former chief minister Bhupinder Hooda will contest from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi, as announced in the party’s first list. Hooda is a prominent Jat figure in Haryana, which is significant as Jats make up 25 per cent of the population in the state. Moreover, the BJP’s connection with the Jat community has been weak.
5) In its second list, other key names were Paramvir Singh, a former minister; Balram Dangi, the son of senior party leader Anand Singh Dangi; and Kuldeep Sharma, a former Assembly speaker.
6) In its first list, the party announced that Mewa Singh will contest from Ladwa to take on CM Nayab Singh Saini.
7) Sitting Congress MLA Bharat Bhushan Batra will defend his Rohtak Assembly seat. The BJP has yet to announce its candidate. Rohtak, which includes Hooda’s Garhi Sampla-Kiloi seat, has long been a stronghold of the Hooda family.
8) The party has given the Sonipat ticket to jailed MLA Surendra Panwar, who will fight to defend his seat. He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in July in a corruption probe.
9) Chiranjeev Rao will contest the polls to retain Rewari, a seat represented by his father, Capt Ajay Singh Yadav, six times. It is considered a stronghold of the Yadav community.
10) Mohit Grover will contest from Gurugram, where the BJP has replaced its incumbent MLA Sudhir Singla with wrestler-turned-politician Mukesh Sharma. Gurugram is part of the Ahirwal belt (dominated by Yadavs), which also includes constituencies in Mahendragarh and Rewari districts.
First Published: Sep 09 2024 | 9:43 AM IST
