Haryana poll battle heats up as Saini, Bhan file nominations; BJP, AAP release candidate lists

CHANDIGARH: Haryana poll battle intensified on Tuesday with prominent leaders including Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and state Congress president Udai Bhan filing their nominations for the October 5 assembly elections, even as the ruling BJP released its second list of 21 candidates.

The AAP, which could not forge an alliance with the main opposition Congress in the state, also released its second list of nine candidates for the polls, fielding former minister Chhatar Pal Singh from Barwala a day after he switched over from the BJP.

Chief Minister Saini filed his nomination papers from the Ladwa constituency. He was accompanied by Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Kurukshetra MP Naveen Jindal.

A total of 127 candidates filed their papers on Tuesday, taking the number of nominations submitted so far to 277, officials said.

Congress' Bhan and Jannayak Janta Party's Digvijay Singh Chautala filed their nominations from Hodal (SC) and Dabwali seats, respectively. Former finance minister Capt Abhimanyu filed his nomination from the Narnaund seat.

Former Haryana minister Rao Narbir Singh and BJP leader Mukesh Sharma filed their nomination papers from Badshahpur and Gurgaon, respectively. Sharma was accompanied by Gurugram MP and Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh.

Before filing his nomination, CM Saini held a roadshow in Ladwa and also drove a tractor.

Speaking to reporters, Khattar expressed confidence that the BJP will form the government for a third time in Haryana. "Voters have made up their minds to form a BJP government for a third time."

Saini claimed that the Congress is heading for a defeat in the assembly elections.

Addressing a gathering earlier, the chief minister said his government took several decisions for the welfare of the people.

"We worked in mission mode while the previous Congress government worked in commission mode," he said.

The nomination window for the polls closes on September 12.

Meanwhile, the BJP released a second list of candidates for the assembly polls, denying tickets to two ministers and replacing its nominee for the Pehowa seat.

The list, notified by BJP national general secretary Arun Singh, has names of 21 candidates, including that of the new nominee for Pehowa. The ruling party is yet to announce candidates for Mahendragarh, NIT Faridabad, and Sirsa seats.

In its first list 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, while the party has fielded Tejpal Tanwar from Sohna.

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.

In the Julana seat, 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.

Earlier, the Aam Aadmi Party released its second list of nine candidates for the Haryana assembly polls. The party's first list of 20 candidates was released on Monday.

According to the fresh list, Rita Bamaniya will contest from Sadhaura seat, Kishan Bajaj from Thanesar, and Hawa Singh from Indri.

The party has fielded Mukhtiyar Singh Bazigar from Ratia and Bhupendra Beniwal from Adampur. Jawahar Lal will contest from Bawal, Pravesh Mehta from Faridabad and Abash Chandela from Tigaon, according to the list.

The party said in a statement that former minister Chhatar Pal Singh, who has been fielded from Barwala, quit the BJP on Monday to join the AAP.

Meanwhile, Olympian Vinesh Phogat's uncle and celebrated wrestling coach Mahavir Phogat said her niece should not have joined politics at this stage and aimed for an Olympic gold in 2028, days after the Congress fielded her from Julana.

Mahavir, whose Olympian daughter Babita Phogat joined the BJP ahead of the 2019 assembly elections, exuded confidence that the party will retain power in Haryana for a third time in a row.

Babita, a Commonwealth Games medal-winner freestyle wrestler who inspired the Bollywood film 'Dangal', contested the 2019 polls unsuccessfully from Dadri.

Asked about Vinesh taking the political plunge, Mahavir, a Dronacharya awardee, told PTI over phone that "it is her decision...these days children take their own decisions."

The BJP is aiming for a hattrick in the assembly polls but faces a tough challenge from a resurgent Congress which is looking to cash in on the anti-incumbency factor. Nayab Saini is the BJP's chief ministerial face for the October 5 elections. The counting of votes will take place on October 8.