Hisar, Haryana:

The BJP’s Kurukshetra MP Naveen Jindal’s mother Savitri Jindal, who was an aspirant of a poll ticket from the party for the Haryana Assembly elections, filed her nomination from the Hisar seat as an Independent on Thursday.

On the last day of the filing of nominations, 74-year-old Ms Savitri, the wife of noted industrialist late O P Jindal, entered the fray against Haryana Minister and sitting MLA from Hisar Kamal Gupta.

Forbes India has listed her as the richest woman in the country this year having a net worth of USD 29.1 billion.

Polling for the 90 Assembly seats in Haryana will be held on October 5 and the results will be declared on October 8.

After filing her nomination, she said, “I have pledged to serve Hisar for its development and transformation. The people of Hisar are my family and Om Prakash Jindal had established my relationship with this family.”

“The Jindal family has always served Hisar. I am fully dedicated to living up to the expectations of the people and maintaining their trust,” said Savitri Jindal.

When the BJP fielded Kamal Gupta from the Hisar Assembly segment, Savitri Jindal was asked by reporters if her contesting the seat against the ruling party would not amount to rebellion.

“It won’t be considered so. I had only campaigned for my son (Naveen Jindal in the Lok Sabah polls). I have not taken any membership (of the BJP),” she had said.

Savitri Jindal was elected as an MLA from the Hisar seat twice. She became represented Hisar in the Haryana Assembly for the first time in 2005 as a Congress MLA. She was reelected from the seat in 2009 and was made a minister in the Singh Hooda government in 2013. She quit the Congress in March this year when her son Naveen Jindal also left the party and later joined the BJP.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia joined the Congress Wednesday afternoon and will contest next month’s Haryana Assembly election. Ms Phogat is expected to challenge for the Julana seat held by the Jannayak Janta Party’s Amarjeet Dhanda. Mr Punia’s likely seat is unclear. The two met Congress MP Rahul Gandhi today, after which news of their political and electoral debut was confirmed.

Ms Phogat and Mr Punia made headlines last year after leading protests against former wrestling body chief Brij Bhushan Singh, who faces charges of sexual assault and intimidation. He was also a BJP MP at the time but was denied a ticket to defend Uttar Pradesh’s Kaiserganj Lok Sabha seat.

The BJP, instead, fielded his son, Karan Bhushan Singh, who won the seat.

The Congress will hope that bringing Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia onboard will strengthen its appeal among voters in the Hindi heartland state, which the BJP has ruled since 2014. Ms Phogat’s connect with Haryana farmers – lakhs of whom continue to protest against the BJP on issues like legal guarantees for MSP – will also have been a factor in the Congress’ consideration.

Last week Ms Phogat visited farmers camped out at a protest site in Shambhu on the Haryana-Delhi border, describing herself as “your daughter” and saying she prays to God to deliver justice for them.

“Your agitation completes 200 days today. I pray to God that you get what you came for – justice. Your daughter stands with you. I also urge the government… we too are citizens of India and just because we raise our voices it is not political,” she said, “You (the government) should hear them.”

Then, though, when asked about her political debut, Ms Phogat was circumspect.

“I will not speak on this… I will not talk about politics. I have come to see my family. If you (the press) insist on talking about this you will take focus away from their (the farmers’) struggle. The focus is not on me today. The focus should be on the farmers, I request this…” she said.