RS polls: Cong fields ex-CM Hooda's son for RS poll, to file nomination Friday

Hours after the BJP named its two candidates for elections to the Rajya sabha from Haryana, the Congress on Thursday decided to field former state Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda's son Deepender Hooda for the Upper house, paying heed to the demand from its party MLA in the state.

All three Rajya Sabha seat aspirants from Haryana -- Dushyant Kumar Gautam and Ram Chander Jangra of the BJP and Hooda of the Congress -- will file their nomination papers for the elections on Friday -- the last day fixed for the purposes.

While the BJP named its candidates earlier in the day, the Congress announced 42-year-old Hooda's name late in the evening.

Earlier, amid a race between Haryana Congress president and veteran leader Kumari Selja and former state Chief Minister Hooda's son for nomination to the Rajya Sabha seats, a senior party leader had batted for the latter's candidature.

Batting for the junior Hooda's nomination against the current Rajya Sabha MP Selja, whose term expires next month, Rohtak MLA B B Batra had claimed the majority of Congress legislators from the state wanted Deepender to be nominated.

The Congress has 31 MLAs in the 90-member Haryana assembly and the majority of them are loyalists of Hooda, who, party sources earlier claimed, had been vigorously pushing for his son's candidature to the Upper House.

Deepender had been a three-time MP from Rohtak. In 2014, the Congress could manage to retain only the Rohtak seat, losing all other nine Lok Sabha seats from Haryana.

However, in 2019, Deepender narrowly lost to BJP's Arvind Sharma as the saffron party won all ten parliamentary seats from the state.

Notably, the two Rajya Sabha vacancies are due to resignation of BJP's Ram Kumar Kashyap and the expiry of Congress leader Kumari Selja's term next month.

A third vacancy which has necessitated a bypoll rose following the resignation of former Union Minister and BJP leader Birender Singh.

In the 90-member Haryana Assembly, the BJP has 40 MLAs while its alliance partner JJP has 10. The main opposition Congress has 31 members while out of seven independent MLAs, six have extended support to the BJP-JJP government. The INLD has one MLA while one member belongs to the Haryana Lokhit Party.

Both the BJP and Congress are poised to bag one seat each but a keen contest is expected as the saffron party has fielded two candidates.

After the BJP named its candidates, backward community leader Jangra and party vice president Gautam said they have been working for the party like ordinary workers and have always accepted whatever duty was assigned to them.

The two leaders thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief J P Nadda for their nomination and also expressed their gratitude towards Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

Gautam said over the years, he has worked for the party in various positions and will continue to work in the spirit based on 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas (Taking along all for progress of all).

"Our party and the government led by it has been working for the country's development and we believe that the fruits of development should reach the last man in the queue," he told PTI.

Jangra, who hails from Meham in Rohtak district, said the BJP has always given him love and respect ever since he joined the party in 2004.

Before joining the BJP, he was associated with Haryana Vikas Party, led by former Chief Minister Bansi Lal. However, when the HVP merged with the Congress, he joined the BJP.

Jangra, who was appointed as the chairperson of the Haryana Backward Classes and Economically Weaker Sections Kalyan Nigam in 2015 by the Khattar government, has also served as Haryana BJP's vice president and the state president of its OBC cell.