Cong’s second list of 9 candidates out

Even as a tie-up with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) still being negotiated, the Congress today released its second list with nine candidates for the October 5 state Assembly poll.

So far, the party has named 41 candidates in a House of 90 seats. Forty-nine candidates are still left to be announced.

The list mentioned former CM Bhupinder Hooda’s loyalists former minister Ashok Arora from Thanesar, former Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Sharma from Ganaur and former minister Paramvir Singh from Tohana.

Three dynasts, Brijendra Singh, son of former Union Minister Birender Singh, from Uchana Kalan, Anirudh Chaudhary, grandson of former CM Bansi Lal, from Tosham, and Balram Singh Dangi, son of Anand Singh Dangi, from Meham have been fielded. Brijendra Singh, a former Hisar MP, who missed out on the party’s nomination for Lok Sabha this time, will face former Deputy CM Dushyant Chautala in Uchana Kalan.

Anirudh Chaudhary will face his cousin Shruti Chaudhary in Tosham. Shruti, granddaughter of former CM Bansi Lal, is a former Bhiwani-Mahendragarh MP and daughter of former minister Kiran Choudhry. The Congress had denied her Lok Sabha ticket this time. After that, she and her mother joined the BJP.

The BJP sent Kiran to the Rajya Sabha and allotted Tosham’s ticket to Shruti. The fight will be for legacy of Bansi Lal. Four-time MLA Anand Singh Dangi had lost the 2019 Assembly elections by 12,047 votes to an Independent candidate Balraj Kundu from Meham and was seeking the ticket for his son Balram this time.

Manju Chaudhary, who had contested the 2014 Assembly poll on the Indian National Lok Dal ticket, has been fielded from Nangal Chaudhary.

Former minister Sukhbir Kataria lost the race to Mohit Grover from the prestigious Gurugram seat. Grover was second on the seat in the 2019 poll as an Independent candidate, polling 48,637 votes. On the other hand, Kataria had won the seat in the 2009 Assembly poll as an Independent but was fourth in 2014 and third in 2019 on the Congress ticket. From Badshahpur, the party has preferred IYC national secretary Vardhan Yadav.