Haryana Congress sends recommendation list of candidates for Lok Sabha elections
Aayush Goel
Gurugram, April 04, 2024:
While BJP has already taken a lead in Haryana with declaration of candidates for Lok Sabha elections 2024, state Congress has today finalised and sent the list of probables for final approval by the party high command. According to sources, a screening committee comprising of Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Haryana state Congress in-charge Deepak Babaria, Haryana Congress State President Uday Bhan and Screening Committee Chairman Bhakta Charan Das was held and they have sent recommendations on nine Lok Sabha seats discussing 18 names in all. Now a meeting of the Central Election Committee (CEC) of the party has been called that will finalise the candidates. According to reports Kumari Selja's name has been recommended for two seats, Ambala and Sirsa.
The names of Kumari Selja, Jarnail Singh, Charanjit Roady and Sheeshpal are included from Sirsa seat while names of Kumari Selja and MLA Varun Mullana from Ambala, and from Hisar former IAS officer Chander Prakash, former Deputy CM Chander Mohan Bishnoi and Brijendra Singh who recently switched from BJP are included.
The names of Karan Dalal, Mahendra Pratap have been sent from Faridabad, Chanakya Sharma and Virendra Maratha from Karnal, Shruti Choudhary and Rao Dan Singh from Bhiwani-Mahendragarh. Subhash Yadav, Captain Ajay Yadav and Jitendra Bhardwaj have been put forward from Gurugram Lok Sabha seat.
Interestingly, the party has recommended only a single name from Rohtak that of Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Hooda. It may be noted that some factions of Congress had been insisting on Bhupinder Singh Hooda contesting Lok Sabha elections from Rohtak as Deepender’s win will vacate his Rajya Sabha seat and his membership is valid till 2026 and that seat might fall in BJP’s kitty. Bhupinder Hooda has out rightly refused to do so saying he is the leader of opposition and should be contesting in forthcoming Vidhan Sabha elections. Not only Hooda, a majority of veterans had refused to contest the current Lok Sabha elections making the party look for new faces. The reason behind this is forthcoming Vidhan Sabha elections in Haryana shortly after formation of the new government at the centre. In such a situation, the result of Lok Sabha elections will completely affect the assembly elections in Haryana. Political experts feel Congress has delayed declaration of candidates to tackle factionalism in the party.