Haryana Polls: Cong Finalises 34 Names, Bhupinder Hooda Set For This Seat As Vinesh Phogat Decision Tomorrow

Haryana Election: Congress finalised candidates for 34 seats, including Bhupinder Hooda and Uday Bhan. Discussions on remaining seats will continue Tuesday when suspense over Vinesh Phogat's candidature will also end.

The Congress deliberated over its candidates for the upcoming Haryana Legislative Assembly elections during the Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting held on Monday. The meeting, which focused on 45 out of the total 90 assembly seats, saw the party finalise candidates for 34 seats. According to sources, former Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda is expected to contest from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi, while Haryana Congress President Uday Bhan will likely enter the fray from Hodal.

The CEC will reconvene on Tuesday at 6 p.m. to continue discussions on the remaining seats. Notably, the meeting did not touch upon the candidacies of Kumari Selja and Randeep Surjewala, both of whom are sitting Members of Parliament (MPs). Kumari Selja is a member of the Lok Sabha, while Randeep Surjewala is a Rajya Sabha MP. Despite their interest in contesting the assembly elections, their candidatures remain undecided.

Following the CEC meeting, Haryana in-charge Deepak Babaria told news agency ANI, "Discussion on 49 seats was taken up and 34 of them have been declared. 15 seats have been sent for review. Out of the 34 cleared seats, 22 are MLA seats. The pending names will be cleared in the next 2-3 days. We will clarify about Vinesh Phogat tomorrow... The list would also be out within two days."

Chhattisgarh's former Deputy Chief Minister T.S. Singh Deo, responding to media queries after the meeting, remarked, "I cannot say anything until the party president signs off. The discussion has taken place on 49 seats." When asked about prominent leaders in the list, he simply said, "Hooda ji." Regarding Bhupinder Hooda's constituency, Singh Deo confirmed that he would contest from his previous seat.

When questioned about discussions on Vinesh Phogat's candidacy, Singh Deo clarified, "Vinesh will decide whether she wants to contest or not. Her name was not discussed in this meeting."

Haryana Election 2024: BJP CEC Meeting Deliberates On Candidates

Simultaneously, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is conducting its own strategic meeting at the party headquarters, focusing on the Haryana Assembly elections. The meeting is being attended by key figures, including Union Health Minister and BJP National President J.P. Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, MP Biplab Deb, and other senior leaders from Haryana.

Haryana's election schedule has been confirmed, with voting set to take place on October 5 and the counting of votes on October 8. Initially, the Election Commission had scheduled the election for October 1, with the vote counting on October 4. However, the dates were revised in consideration of the Bishnoi community's centuries-old Asoj Amavasya festival.