LS polls: Sitting Sirsa MP among six candidates named by INLD

Sitting MP from Sirsa Charanjeet Singh Rori was re-nominated as the Indian National Lok Dal Wednesday announced the names of six candidates for the May 12 Lok Sabha polls in Haryana.

At a press conference here, senior party leader Abhay Chautala said the names of remaining four candidates will be announced on Friday.

INLD's former deputy mayor from Yamunanagar Ram Pal Balmiki will contest from Ambala reserved constituency, party leader from Assandh Dharamvir Pada has been fielded from Karnal, youth leader Surinder Chhikara from Sonipat, Suresh Koth, who has been fighting for farmers' cause, will contest from Hisar and party secretary Mahender Singh Chauhan has been named from Faridabad, Abhay Chautala said.

The candidates for Kurukshetra, Rohtak, Bhiwani-Mahendergarh and Gurgaon will be announced on Friday, he said.

"Our senior leaders Ashok Arora and Rampal Majra have been entrusted with the job of consulting party's national president Chaudhary Om Prakash Chautala," the INLD leader said.

"The party is deliberating on a few names for these seats and once our party chief approves them, the announcement will be made," he added.

Abhay Chautala further said that a woman candidate may be fielded from one of the four seats.

Hitting out at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Haryana, he claimed that the people are fed up with the alleged misrule in the state.

"During recent times, there have been incidents when their (BJP) ministers had to face public wrath and beat a hasty retreat from public functions. At some places, their ministers and leaders are being confronted with questions from the public, who seek to know what have they done for the last five years," he said.

Asked to comment on the recent tie-up announced by the Jannayak Janata Party and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and their decision to contest all the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana, Abhay Chautala claimed that the people will not accept the alliance.

He said the main motive of the alliance was to keep his father and INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala, serving a jail sentence in connection with the teachers recruitment scam, behind bars and not allow him to campaign in the state.

Abhay Chautala had earlier accused JJP leaders Dushyant Chautala and Digvijay Chautala of using their influence with their alliance partner AAP's government in Delhi to keep the INLD president in jail while allowing Ajay Chautala to come out and campaign for JJP-AAP.

Ajay Chautala, who is also serving a prison term in connection with the scam along with his father Om Prakash Chautala, on Monday came out of Tihar jail on a 21-day furlough.

Notably, JJP came into existence in December 2018 after the INLD, a party founded by former deputy prime minister Devi Lal, split after a bitter power struggle between his two grandsons--Abhay Chautala and Ajay Chautala.

Taking a veiled dig at his brother Ajay Chautala and nephew Dushyant Chautala, Abhay Chautala said that those who ditch their own parties have a short political survival.

Abhay Chautala also claimed that the people will not accept the JJP-AAP alliance because AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal had said during Punjab elections that if his party came to power there, it would not spare a drop of water for Haryana.

He further claimed that the Manohar Lal Khattar government was "weak" and had the INLD been in power in Haryana, it would have forced Kejriwal to make his stand clear on the issue of water sharing.

"We would have stopped water (to Delhi) from Munak canal and forced him to apologise before people of Haryana," he said, adding that the INLD will continue to wage its battle to ensure that Haryana gets its due share of SYL canal water.

Abhay Chautala further praised Rori for allegedly refusing to accept a bribe of around Rs 10 crores by two undercover reporters posing as representatives of an MNC wanting to setup a factory in his parliamentary constituency.

The last date for filing of nomination papers for the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana is April 23 and the polling will take place on May 12.