Gurugram seat: Congress may field Raj Babbar against Rao Inderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Sumedha Sharma

Gurugram, April 10

While BJP’s incumbent MP Rao Inderjit Singh is chasing a record sixth term from the state, and third term from Gurugram, the Congress is considering fielding actor and senior leader Raj Babbar. The party’s internal introspection has declared the seat ‘difficult’, and thus, the high command is mulling on harnessing celebrity power to counter the Ahir stalwart.

Among the probables is Capt Ajay Yadav, another popular Ahir leader. After his initial reluctance, Yadav has come around, even as his rival faction in the party is highlighting his defeat to Rao Inderjit in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Rao Inderjit (BJP) got 8,81,546 votes and Yadav (Congress) secured 4,95,290 votes. “Not just Gurugram, but in many constituencies we are thinking of using celebrity power. A majority of these seats are difficult and we expect stars to pull more crowds. Babbar is a senior leader and veteran parliamentarian. He can give a tough competition to Singh,” said a senior party leader from Delhi.

On being contacted, Babbar said he was travelling and abstained from making any comment. If selected, his candidature will rattle the caste dynamics, as the constituency has the maximum number of Ahir voters, and Rao Inderjit Singh enjoys popularity in this vote bank.

Capt Ajay Yadav's son Rao Chiranjeev is MLA from Rewari and son-in-law of Lalu Prasad Yadav. This makes them popular with Purvanchali voters. “I have already told the party that I will play any role given to me with full dedication. If asked to contest, I will do so with all my might,” he said.

The Congress had initially floated the name of actor Sanjay Dutt to contest against former CM and BJP leader ML Khattar from Karnal. The party wanted to bank on his family ties in the region and star power, but he issued a statement negating any plans to contest elections.

Ahir vote bank

If selected, Babbar’s candidature will rattle the caste dynamics, as the constituency has the maximum number of Ahir voters. Rao Inderjit Singh enjoys popularity in this vote bank.

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