Cong gears up for Baroda bypoll

Sushil Manav

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Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 6

The Congress has started gearing up for a byelection to the Baroda Assembly segment in Sonepat district, which fell vacant due to the death of party MLA Shri Krishan Hooda on April 12.

Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda today chaired a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party at his residence today to begin preparations for the bypoll. The Congress has 30 MLAs in the Vidhan Sabha. According to party sources, 21 legislators attended the meeting today.

“Bharat Bhushan Batra from Rohtak and Kuldeep Vats from Badli are unwell and in hospital. Samalkha MLA Dharam Pal Chhokar is busy because a family member is indisposed,” said the sources.

Hooda told MLAs to keep in touch with the electorate and be prepared for the bypoll, which could be announced anytime.

Baroda is a part of the Sonepat parliamentary seat and is considered Hooda’s stronghold. His candidate Shri Krishan Hooda won thrice consecutively since 2009.

“The seat fell vacant on April 12 and hence, a bypoll could be announced any moment. We are expecting the byelection along with 24 seats in Madhya Pradesh, which are likely to go in for a bypoll soon. We will win the Baroda seat,” Hooda told The Tribune.

Some MLAs requested Hooda to appoint Rajya Sabha member Deepender Hooda as incharge for the bypoll as he had a good following in the area.

Before the meeting, Congress MLAs observed a two-minute silence for the 20 Indian soldiers who had laid down their lives in the Galwan valley and two policemen killed in Sonepat recently. They also paid tributes to Baroda MLA Shri Krishan Hooda.

Meanwhile, politics in Haryana heated up with the speculation of an early election, though there was no announcement from the Election Commission so far.

Responding to Hooda’s challenge to contest the bypoll against him, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today took a dig at the former CM, reminding him of the results of the Lok Sabha poll. “Hooda and his son Deepender Hooda had lost the elections. Hooda’s son reached the Rajya Sabha riding on the back of his party’s MLAs. Baroda is a part of the Sonepat parliamentary seat and the BJP-JJP alliance will win comfortably,” Khattar said at a press conference today.