Chandigarh:

Having been granted bail to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year, Delhi Chief Minister and Arvind Kejriwal will be released from jail again just ahead of the Assembly elections in Haryana, which is being seen as a big boost for the AAP in a state where it is hoping to do well. 

The party erupted in joy after a Supreme Court granted him bail in the Delhi excise policy case on Friday, noting that his “prolonged incarceration amounts to unjust deprivation of liberty”, and the AAP Haryana handle posted a video of Mr Kejriwal with a fire emoji, writing: “He is back”. 

AAP’s Haryana unit chief Sushil Gupta said Mr Kejriwal would campaign in the state, adding that the people are looking for a change. “We will now fight the polls with double energy. Kejriwal ji will soon start his campaign in Haryana,” he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

“People are looking for a ‘badlav’ (change), they want to elect an honest government, which can ensure good education and health facilities, round-the-clock power supply and overall development… People want to bring the AAP to power and we will win the polls,” Mr Gupta added.

Voting will be held in all of Haryana’s 90 Assembly constituencies on October 5 and the AAP released its sixth list of 19 candidates on Thursday, the last day for filing nominations. The party is contesting 89 seats after its talks of an alliance with INDIA partner Congress fell through. The AAP had sought to contest at least 10 seats as part of the alliance but the Congress was willing to give up only five to seven.

The state unit of the Congress had, in fact, reportedly been against a tie-up with the AAP but talks had been held at the insistence of senior leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, who had said that it would prevent a division of votes and give the opposition its best chance of defeating the BJP.

The BJP has ruled in Haryana since 2014 but the opposition has been buoyed by its performance in the recent Lok Sabha polls, where the state’s 10 seats were split evenly between the BJP and the Congress after a clean sweep by the BJP in 2019. Opposition parties are also hoping that they can capitalise on the discontent among farmers, who have been protesting seeking a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP), anger over the Agnipath scheme for recruitment in the armed forces and the anger among athletes following the protest against former BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh by wrestlers last year. 

While the AAP had lost the lone Lok Sabha seat – Kurukshetra – it had contested by a margin of 29,000 votes, the party believes it can do well because it is in power in Delhi and Punjab, two states that border Haryana, where, its leaders claim, people are happy with its policies. 

Along these lines, campaigning in the Asandh Assembly constituency on Thursday, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha had made a “triple-engine” pitch for development.

“On one side of Haryana there’s Punjab which has an AAP government and on the other side there’s Delhi with an AAP government too. If the AAP government is formed in Haryana then a triple engine of development will run in the state,” he had said. 

“We listen on the radio, Mirchi sunne waale always khush (Those who listen to Mirchi are always happy). Similarly, Kejriwal ko chunne wala always khush (Those who choose Kejriwal are always happy),” the MP had added. 
 

Chandigarh:

Releasing its third and biggest list for the Haryana Assembly so far, the Congress has named candidates for 40 of the state’s 90 Assembly constituencies. The list includes Aditya Surjewala, who is the son of Congress’ Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Singh Surjewala, as well as two people who had filed their nomination from the constituencies they wanted to represent even before their names were announced by the party. 

With the third list released on Wednesday, the party has named candidates for 81 seats in all, leaving a question mark only on nine remaining seats. The announcement came on a day when the BJP released its final list of three candidates for the polls. 

Aditya Surjewala has been fielded from the Kaithal Assembly constituency, from where his father and Congress General Secretary has been elected an MLA at least twice. 

From the Palwal constituency, former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s in-law Karan Dalal has been given a ticket and so has Vikas Saharan, son of party MP Jai Parkash, from the Kalayat Assembly constituency. Both of these leaders had filed their nominations before their names were announced by the Congress. 

From the Kosali Assembly constituency, the party has denied a ticket to Rao Yaduvender Singh, brother of BJP’s Gurgaon MP and Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh, and fielded Jagdish Yadav instead. Rao Yaduvender Singh had contested from the constituency in 2019 and lost by a margin of over 38,000 votes. 

In the third list, five women have got tickets – Pearl Chaudhary from Pataudi, Anita Yadav from Ateli, Sumita Virk from Karnal, Pooja Chaudhary from Mulana and Parag Sharma from Ballabgarh. Pooja Chaudhary is the wife of Varun Choudhary, who won from Mulana in 2019 and was elected the MP from Ambala in this year’s Lok Sabha elections. 

Chander Mohan, the elder son of former chief minister Bhajan Lal and a former deputy minister in the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government, has got the ticket from Panchkula. Sombir Singh, the son-in-law of another former chief minister, Chaudhary Bansi Lal, has been fielded from the Badhra seat.

Voting for all 90 seats in Haryana will take place on October 5 and counting will be held on October 8. The BJP is hoping to retain its hold on power in the Hindi heartland state, which it has ruled since 2014, but is facing a challenge from a resurgent Congress.

What has made the contest more interesting is the fact that the state’s 10 Lok Sabha seats were split evenly between the Congress and the BJP this year after the BJP’s clean sweep in the 2014 general elections. 

New Delhi:

The BJP today released its second list of candidates for Haryana Assembly elections, adding 21 more names. So far, the party has declared 87 candidates for the 90-member assembly. The BJP has pitted Captain Yogesh Bairagi against Olympian Vinesh Phogat who is set to contest the polls on a Congress ticket from Julana. 

In the first list of 67 candidates, the party fielded Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini from Karnal to the Ladwa seat. Mr Saini served as the MP from Kurukshetra between 2019 and 2024. Prominent leaders like former state BJP president Om Prakash Dhankar, who now holds a national secretary role in the party, have been fielded from the Badli constituency. Another key figure, Anil Vij, the veteran party leader and former state minister, is set to contest from his traditional stronghold of Ambala Cantt.

Several political heavyweights who have recently switched allegiance to the BJP have been rewarded with tickets. Devender Singh Babli, formerly of the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), will now contest from Tohana, while Shruti Choudhry, a recent entrant and the granddaughter of former Haryana Chief Minister Bansi Lal, is set to run from Tosham. Similarly, Rao Inderjit Singh’s daughter, Aarti Singh Rao, has been given the Ateli seat, along with several other loyalists of the Union Minister, further cementing the party’s presence in south Haryana.

With the assembly polls scheduled for October 5, the BJP is aiming for a third consecutive victory in the state. However, the ruling party faces stiff competition from a resurgent Congress. The counting of votes is scheduled for October 8.

Faridabad:

Cow vigilante Bittu Bajrangi alias Rajkumar Panchal, an accused in the Nuh violence case, filed his nomination as an independent candidate from NIT assembly segment in Faridabad on Monday.

The assembly elections will be held in Haryana on October 5.

In an official statement, District Election Officer Vikram Singh confirmed that Bajrangi has filed his nomination as an independent from NIT Faridabad seat.

Bajrangi, who formed Gau Raksha Bajrang Force, has a long association with controversies.

Bajrangi has been an accused in the case of Nuh violence that had started in July last year after a procession organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad was attacked by a mob.

Five people, including two home guards, were killed and many injured in the violence that erupted on July 31 last year in Nuh and spread to other areas of the state. In Gurugram, a naib imam was killed at a mosque amid a series of incidents of arson.

In July this year, three cases were registered against Bajrangi in Faridabad.

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

Chandigarh:

The rebellion in the Haryana BJP sparked by leaders being denied tickets for the upcoming elections intensified on Saturday with a former minister joining the ranks of those who have quit the party.

Former Haryana minister Bachan Singh Arya was hoping for a ticket from the Safidon Assembly constituency but the BJP decided to field Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) rebel Ram Kumar Gautam, who had joined the party earlier this month. The JJP was a BJP ally until Nayab Singh Saini replaced Manohar Lal Khattar as the Haryana chief minister in March this year. 

The BJP had released its first list of 67 candidates on Wednesday and Mr Arya, who had lost from the Safidon Assembly constituency by a margin of about 3,500 votes in 2019, had posted a couplet on social media the next day, in which he spoke of injustice and hinted at a rebellion

“Laga do aag pani mein, shararat ho to aisi ho. Mita do hasti julmo ki, bagawat ho to aise ho. (Set fire to water, if there is mischief, let it be like this. Erase the existence of injustice, if there is a rebellion, let it be like this),” the former minister had posted. 

On Saturday, Mr Arya announced he was quitting the BJP in a terse four-line letter, stating that he was resigning from the primary membership of the party and the state executive.

Mr Arya’s resignation follows the exit of two Haryana ministers – Energy Minister Ranjit Singh Chautala and Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Social Justice Bishamber Singh Valmiki – and MLA Lakshman Napa, who were denied tickets. Key OBC leader Karan Dev Kamboj also resigned from all posts in the BJP for the same reason.

While Mr Chautala announced that he would contest as an Independent, Mr Napa said he would join the Congress.

The loss of Mr Chautala, 79, can hurt the party as he is the son of Chaudhary Devi Lal, one of Haryana’s tallest leaders, who served as chief minister twice and was also a deputy prime minister.

“I am Chaudhary Devi Lal’s son. I have some stature… I have decided to contest as an Independent,” Mr Chautala had said on Thursday.

Some of the leaders also alleged that loyalists were not being valued by the BJP.

“Perhaps the BJP does not need loyalists anymore,” Mr Kamboj had said, adding that the party was rewarding leaders who had joined recently while ignoring those who had served it for years. 

‘No Scope For Change’

Amid the rebellion, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini had said on Friday that speculation over changing candidates should end as there was no scope for doing so.  “Everyone wants a ticket, but the ‘lotus’ (BJP’s symbol) can be given to only one person… It is natural for ticket-seekers to get angry. But they will be persuaded,” he said.

The BJP, which has ruled Haryana since 2014, faces a stiffer challenge this time because it lost five of the state’s 10 Lok Sabha seats to the Congress this year after sweeping all of them in 2019. The protests by farmers – who are seeking a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) – last year’s agitation by wrestlers, and concerns over the Agnipath scheme for recruitment in the Army are seen as posing challenges to the party in the state. 

Congress Jolted Too

The Congress, which got a boost after inducting wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia into the party on Friday, also got a jolt on Saturday – just a day after releasing its first list of 32 candidates for the Haryana polls. Senior leader Rajesh Joon resigned from the Congress and decided to contest as an Independent candidate after being denied a ticket from Bahadurgarh, where the party decided to retain sitting MLA Rajinder Singh Joon. 

“The Congress leadership cheated me. I was promised a ticket but the promise was not kept. I will become an MLA by polling double the number of votes that the Congress candidate gets,” Mr Joon said. 

In the Baroda Assembly constituency, Congress leader Kapoor Singh Narwal said he was promised a ticket by Mr Hooda, but it was given to Induraj Singh Narwal.

“They have cheated the people of the constituency, not me. I will take a call on contesting as an Independent tomorrow (Sunday),” Kapoor Singh Narwal said, even as sources close to him indicated he could leave the party.

Vinesh Phogat has been given a ticket by the Congress to contest Haryana polls from Julana, marking a new beginning in the life of the famous sportstar whose Olympic disqualification broke the country’s heart.

Former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda will contest from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi and state unit chief Udai Bhan from Hodal, said the party as it released a list of 31 names for the polls.

Congress’ Mewa Singh will square off against Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini from Ladwa.

Surender Panwar will contest from Sonipat, Bharat Bhushan Batra from Rohtak, Kuldeep Vats from Badli, Chiranjeev Rao from Revari and Neeraj Sharma from Faridabad NIT.

Earlier today, Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, who were at the forefront of the wrestlers’ protest against then WFI chief and former BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, joined the Congress with a vow of “not being scared or backing off”.

“I thank the people of the country and the media, you supported me throughout my wrestling journey. I thank the Congress party, it is said tough times tell you about who is with you. When we were dragged on the roads, all parties except the BJP stood with us and understood our pain and tears,” said the 30-year-old ex wrestler, whose father was shot dead when she was nine years old.

Ms Phogat said she felt proud that she was with a party and an ideology that stood against injustice on women and was ready to fight the battle from the streets to Parliament.

“I am starting a new innings. I want sportspersons don’t have to face what we had to go through,” said Ms Phogat, adding that her move might inspire them.

The BJP, which has been in power in the state for a decade, replaced Manohar Lal Khattar with Nayab Singh Saini as its Chief Minister in March this year.

Rival Congress is in seat-sharing talks with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for the 90 seats in Haryana. There is hard bargaining going on from both sides.

The state will go to polls in a single phase on October 5. The votes will be counted on October 8.

The BJP is ready to contest polls tomorrow, asserted senior leader Anil Vij after his party faced opposition criticism for seeking to defer the September 1 polls. The party, in its defense, cited long holidays before and after the election date that it said could adversely affect the voter turnout.

Anil Vij, a former Haryana Home Minister, said that the BJP recently held a marathon meeting that lasted two days and sent the names of three to four probable nominees for every seat in the 90-member state Assembly to the Central Election Committee, underscoring that the party is ready.

Haryana polls would be held in a single phase on October 1. The votes will be counted on October 4.

“The declared dates make it possible for people to take extended holidays, which reduces voter turnout. Congress has reacted today, but we are not just asking for an extension. We suggest moving the dates back by a few days to prevent a long holiday period. We are ready for elections. Our party is ready. Have it tomorrow,” said Mr Vij.

Ambala: Haryana’s former Home Minister Anil Vij says, “The declared dates make it possible for people to take extended holidays, which reduces voter turnout. Congress has reacted today, but we are not just asking for an extension. We suggest moving the dates back by a few days to… pic.twitter.com/PLckYZNO42

— IANS (@ians_india) August 25, 2024

The BJP, which has been in power in state for a decade, is not alone in making this request. Abhay Chautala’s Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) has also sought the deferment of polls.

If the Election Commission agrees, it won’t be the first time. There is Punjab precedent.

In 2022, the poll body changed the date of polling for the Punjab assembly elections from February 14 to 20, after various political parties requested the six-day postponement, citing the birth anniversary of Sant Ravidas.

In his letter to the poll body, then Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi wrote that at least 20 lakh followers of Guru Ravidas from Punjab would congregate at Varanasi from 10 to 16 February to mark his birth anniversary, due to which they might not be able to vote.

However, the Congress this time sees it differently. Senior party leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda said the BJP had “accepted defeat” by requesting to postpone the Assembly election date, asserting that the people were ready to throw out the incumbent government.

“Polls should be held according to the date fixed by the EC… People of Haryana don’t want to see the BJP government in power even for a day,” said Bhupinder Hooda, a former Chief Minister.

Bhupinder Hooda’s son and Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda said the request shows “how scared the BJP is of the elections”.

The Aam Admi Party, which is contesting on its own in all seats, said if the BJP had done work in the state, it would not have been seeking postponement of polls.

The BJP points out that it is up for a contest and its worry is that holidays before and after the poll date may hit the voting percentage.

“We have reasoned that the Assembly election date of October 1 (Tuesday) is preceded by a weekend and followed by more holidays which might hit the voting percentage as people tend to go on vacation on long weekends,” said Varinder Garg, a member of the BJP’s state election management committee.

Mr Garg said September 28-29 are Saturday and Sunday while October 1 is a poll holiday.

It is followed by more holidays as Gandhi Jayanti falls on October 2 and Maharaja Agrasen Jayanti on October 3, he said.

A letter in this respect was sent by the party’s Haryana unit chief Mohan Lal Badoli to the poll panel.

By taking a day’s leave on September 30, people will have six holidays. Due to this long weekend, there is a strong possibility that several families might go on a vacation and give voting a miss, Mohan Lal Badoli, BJP Haryana chief said in his letter to the poll body, adding that it might affect voting percentage drastically.