Congress fields ex-MLAs; BJP rebels jump into fray from Ateli, Narnaul

The Congress has reposed confidence in two former MLAs, Anita Yadav and Rao Narendra Singh, from the Ateli and Narnaul Assembly constituencies of Ahir-dominated Mahendragarh district, respectively, while the BJP’s rebels, Santosh Yadav and Bharti Saini, have jumped into fray after resigning from the party. They were miffed over the denial of ticket to them.

Santosh Yadav, a former Deputy Vidhan Sabha Speaker, has filed her nomination from the Ateli constituency, from where the BJP has fielded Arti Singh Rao, daughter of Union Minister and Ahir stalwart Rao Inderjit Singh. It would be Santosh’s fifth Assembly elections and first as an Independent candidate.

“I had contested two Assembly polls as an INLD nominee in 2000 and 2005. Thereafter, the BJP gave me ticket in the next 2009 and 2014 elections. I emerged victorious in the 2014 elections by a huge margin of 48,601 votes, but lost the previous elections in a close contest. I was a strong contender for the ticket in 2019 and this time, too. However, the party denied me the ticket both times, forcing me to resign from the post of the BJP state vice-president and primary members of the party,” Santosh told ‘The Tribune’.

Similarly, Bharti Saini, former chairperson of Narnaul Municipal Council, was one of the contenders for the BJP ticket from the Narnaul constituency, from where the BJP has fielded sitting MLA Om Prakash Yadav for the third time. The Saini community has a considerable number of votes in the Ahir-dominated Narnaul constituency.

“My wife, Bharti, today filed her nomination as an Independent after resigning from the post of district chief of BJP’s women cell. She had worked a lot while serving as the chairperson of MC, hence we are confident that people will fully support us,” said Sanjay Saini.

As far as the Congress is concerned, it has fielded former minister Rao Narender Singh from Narnaul. Last time, he was elected as the HJC (BL) candidate from Narnaul in 2009 and became the Health Minister in the then Congress government led by Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Thereafter, he unsuccessfully contested the next two elections on the Congress ticket.

Similarly, Anita Yadav (60), a three-time MLA and former Chief Parliamentary Secretary, contested her previous Assembly polls in 2014, but faced defeat. In 2019, her son, Samrat, jumped into the fray on a JJP ticket but could not succeed.