Haryana Polls: Congress Fields Bhupinder Hooda, Vinesh Phogat In First List, Names CM Nayab Saini’s Challenger

Haryana Election 2024: Former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda will seek reelection from his Garhi Sampla-Kiloi seat, while Olympian Vinesh Phogat will make her electoral debut in Julana.

The Congress released its first list of 31 candidates for the Haryana Assembly elections on Friday. Notable inclusions are former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who will contest from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi, state unit chief Udai Bhan from Hodal, and Olympian wrestler Vinesh Phogat from Julana. Mewa Singh will take on CM Nayab Saini in Ladwa, the list revealed. Other candidates include Surender Panwar for Sonipat, Bharat Bhushan Batra for Rohtak, Kuldeep Vats for Badli, Chiranjeev Rao for Rewari, and Neeraj Sharma for Faridabad NIT.

Besides them, the Central Election Committee has approved the candidature of incumbent MLA Balbir Singh as a Congress candidate from the 26 – Israna-SC constituency, news agency ANI reported.

Earlier in the day, wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia joined the grand old party after meeting Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. Vinesh and Bajrang, both Olympians and prominent figures in the wrestlers' protest against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and BJP leader Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, entered the political fray with a pledge to remain steadfast and unafraid in their new roles.

Haryana Election 2024: Kharge, Sonia, Bhupinder Hooda Chair CEC Meeting

The Central Election Committee (CEC) of the Congress convened on Friday to finalise candidates for the upcoming elections. The meeting was attended by key figures, including Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chief Sonia Gandhi, and former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Of the 90 Assembly seats in Haryana, the CEC has cleared candidates for 66, while deliberations continue for the remaining 24 seats, PTI reported.

A sub-committee, which includes AICC in-charge of Haryana Deepak Babaria, T.S. Singhdeo, and Ajay Maken, is overseeing the selection process.

Meanwhile, the Congress is also engaged in seat-sharing negotiations with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for the Haryana polls. The discussions have been described as intense, with both sides hard bargaining. Some Congress leaders, particularly from the Hooda faction, have expressed reservations about an alliance with AAP, arguing that Arvind Kejriwal's party lacks a strong presence in Haryana, according to PTI.

The Haryana Assembly, comprising 90 seats, is scheduled for elections on October 5, with the counting of votes set for October 8.