Congress facing internal rebellion over candidates' list for Haryana polls
What's the story
The Congress party is facing internal rebellion following the announcement of its candidates' list for the upcoming Haryana Assembly elections. Senior leader Rajesh Joon has resigned from all party positions and declared his intention to run as an independent candidate. Another leader, Kapoor Singh Narwal, has also expressed dissatisfaction, saying he was promised a ticket for the Baroda Assembly constituency, but it was given to Induraj Singh Narwal. "I will take a call on contesting as Independent tomorrow," he said.
Unfulfilled promise
Senior leader alleges betrayal, vows to contest independently
Joon accused the Congress leadership of reneging on a promise to give him a ticket. "The Congress leadership cheated me. I was promised a ticket but the promise was not kept," he said. He further vowed to secure double the votes of the official Congress candidate in his independent run. In 2019 too, Joon rebelled after Rajinder Singh Joon was given the ticket for the same constituency, Bahadurgarh. He withdrew his nomination only after former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda intervened.
Election strategy
Congress hopes to dislodge BJP amid internal dissent
The Congress released its first candidate list for the upcoming Haryana elections on Friday night. The party fielded wrestler Vinesh Phogat from the Julana seat and Hooda for the Garhi Sampla-Kiloi constituency. Surender Panwar received a ticket from Sonipat, Jagbir Singh Malik from Gohana, and Bharat Bhushan Batra from Rohtak. The party has also fielded Kuldeep Vata from Badli, Geeta Bhukkal from Jhajjar (reserved for SC), Chiranjeev Rao from Rewari, Aftab Ahmed from Nuh, and Neeraj Sharma from Faridabad NIT.
BJP
BJP faces major revolt in Haryana
Like the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is facing an internal rift over its first candidate list. Energy Minister Ranjit Singh Chautala and Minister of State for Social Justice Bishamber Singh Balmiki resigned from their positions on Thursday after being overlooked for candidacy. Additionally, Karan Dev Kamboj, state president of the BJP OBC Morcha and former minister, quit the party. MLA Laxman Napa also resigned from the BJP and joined the Congress in New Delhi.