Hisar: MP Jai Prakash among 35 aspirants for Congress ticket

Deepender Deswal

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Hisar, March 5

There are 35 applicants for the Congress ticket for the Hisar Lok Sabha seat, but the party has zeroed in on two names, including former MP Jai Prakash, Gaurav Sampat Singh, who is the son of former Minister Sampat Singh. Sources said a surprise candidate could be fielded from Hisar, including boxing Olympics medallist Vijender Singh.

Party sources said Jai Prakash, who was as popular as JP, was one of the strong est contenders for the Congress ticket in Hisar. Being close to the former Chief Minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, JP supporters claimed that JP had a consolidated network of party workers across the nine Assembly segments of the Lok Sabha constituency. JP has won Hisar in Lok Sabha thrice in the past—- in 1989, 1996 and 2004 —- every time representing different parties. However, he had also lost on all four occasions from here —- in 1991, 1998, 2009 and 2011 byelection. JP also lost the recent Assembly byelections in the Adampur segment where he lost to Bhavya Bishnoi of the BJP.

The young face, Gaurav Sampat Singh, who is the son of a senior leader and former Home Minister of the state Sampat Singh, has also been in the contention for the ticket. He, accompanied by his father, has been visiting the Lok Sabha segment for some time now. Prof Sampat Singh is a six-time MLA. Five times from Battu Kalan as an INLD leader and once from the Nalwa Assembly segment as the Congress candidate. He has also contested from the Hisar Lok Sabha seat unsuccessfully in the past. However, the party insiders claimed that the name of boxing Olympics medallist Vijender Singh, who is a resident of Kalwas village located in the Bawani Khera Assembly segment (part of the Hisar Lok Sabha constituency) in Bhiwani district, had contested the last Lok Sabha poll on the Congress ticket from Delhi. “People from Hisar and part of Bhiwani are sports enthusiasts and thus the party can field him from here,” said a party worker. Besides, the names of former Deputy Chief Minister Chander Mohan are also doing the rounds in the party circles. Though, the party sources said, he had not applied for the ticket, it could be possible if the party asked him to contest. Interestingly, a Health Department employee, biologist Dr Ramesh Punia, too has applied for the Congress ticket.