Hectic lobbying on seats of one sitting, three ex-ministers in Ahirwal, Rohtak

After the BJP declared its first list of 67 candidates for the Assembly polls, focus has now shifted on the remaining 23 seats, especially on the electoral fate of three ex-ministers of the then Khattar regime and one sitting minister of the Saini government in Ahirwal and Rohtak.

Rohtak, Bawal (Rewari), Narnaul and Mahendragarh are among those 23 seats where ticket allotment has been put on hold. Senior BJP leader Manish Grover, a close aide of Union Minister ML Khattar, is a strong contender for the party ticket from Rohtak while BJP veteran Ram Bilas Sharma from Mahendragarh, MLA Om Prakash Yadav from Narnaul and Public Health Engineering Minister Dr Banwari Lal from Bawal are vying for the party ticket.

“Eminent cardiologist Dr Aditya Batra is giving a tough fight to Grover for the BJP ticket in Rohtak. Local RSS leaders are backing Batra while an influential senior BJP leader is in favour of Grover who has contested five Assembly elections on the party ticket. Besides them, Rohtak Municipal Corporation outgoing Mayor Manmohan Goyal too is lobbying for the ticket,” sources said. Putting the ticket of Ram Bilas Sharma on hold has left everyone surprised as he has been quite active in Mahendragarh constituency since losing the previous electoral battle in 2019.

“Mahendragarh is an Ahir-dominated constituency, hence the party intends to allot the ticket to avoid polarisation of Ahir voters as it is believed that the Congress will either field Rao Dan Singh or his son Akshat Rao. The party is exploring suitable Ahir face in Mahendragarh. If it happens then Sharma may be shifted to Narnaul. However, a section of the party leaders is also in favour of pitting either Sharma or his son from Mahendragarh,” the sources pointed out.

Sources claimed that the declaration of candidature for the Narnaul seat has been put on hold due to Mahendragarh. “Any decision on the Mahendragarh seat is likely to pave the way for the selection of BJP candidate for adjoining Narnaul seat which is currently being represented by BJP MLA Om Prakash Yadav, who is a loyalist of influential Ahir leader Rao Inderjit Singh. However, the BJP is unlikely to ignore Rao’s choice for this seat as well,” sources added.

Moreover, people of the Saini Community, being in a good number in Narnaul, too, are mounting pressure on the BJP leadership. Narnaul MC chairperson Kamlesh Saini and former chairperson Bharti Saini are among strong contenders for the ticket from Narnaul. “In Bawal (reserved), the BJP is likely to field a candidate of Inderjit’s choice. Though Dr Banwari Lal has also got the BJP ticket twice on the recommendation of Rao but this time, Dr Sanjay Mehra, a loyalist of Rao, is also vying for the ticket from Bawal,” the sources said.