Haryana Assembly elections: AAP releases third list of 11 candidates

Haryana election 2024: Haryana's elections are on October 5, vote counting on October 8; nominations close on September 12, scrutiny on September 13, and the withdrawal deadline is September 16

The Aam Aadmi Party released its third list of 11 candidates for the upcoming Haryana Assembly elections. The party on Tuesday had already announced its second list of nine candidates. Notably, Haryana AAP president Sushil Gupta was not included in either list.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led party’s first list of 20 candidates was released on Monday, following the collapse of seat-sharing discussions with the Congress. To date, the party has announced candidates for 40 out of the 90 seats in the Haryana Assembly.

In the third list, Pravin Guskhani is set to contest against former Haryana Chief Minister and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda in the Garhi Sampla-Kiloi constituency. Other candidates include Bheem Singh Rathi for Radaur, Amar Singh for Nilokheri, Amit Kumar for Israna, Mahender Dahiya for Jhajjar, Satish Yadav for Rewari, and Col (retd) Rajendra Rawat for Hathin.

The deadline for submitting nomination papers is September 12, with the election for the 90-member Assembly slated for October 5.

Previously, the Congress and the AAP had teamed up for the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi but ran separately in Punjab. In the general elections, the Congress had allotted one seat to AAP in Haryana, which was contested unsuccessfully. In the 2019 Haryana elections, the AAP contested 46 seats but did not secure any victories.

Haryana Assembly polls: BJP leader Santosh Yadav quits party

Upset over being denied a ticket for the Haryana Assembly elections, Santosh Yadav, the BJP’s state vice president, resigned from the party on Tuesday. Yadav expressed frustration over the neglect of grassroots leaders who have remained loyal to the party.

A former deputy speaker of the state assembly, Yadav had been seeking a nomination for the Ateli constituency, but the BJP has chosen Aarti Singh Rao, daughter of Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh, for the seat.

With the 90-member assembly elections set for October 5, Yadav sent a letter to the state BJP chief announcing her resignation from all party positions and her primary membership.

Haryana elections: BJP drops seven MLAs in second list

On Tuesday, the BJP announced its second list of 21 candidates for the Haryana Assembly elections, which includes the removal of seven sitting MLAs, among them two ministers. The party has also substituted one candidate and positioned Capt Yogesh Bairagi against Congress’s wrestler-turned-politician Vinesh Phogat in Julana.

To date, the BJP has announced 87 candidates for the 90-seat Assembly, leaving out key constituencies like Mahendragarh, Sirsa, and NIT Faridabad due to the competitive nature of the races.

Among those removed are ministers Seema Trikha from Badkhal and Banwari Lal from Bawal. The other five dropped MLAs are Satya Prakash Jarawata from Pataudi, Jagdish Nayyar from Hodal, Parveen Dagar from Hathin, state BJP president Mohan Lal Badoli from Rai, and Nirmal Rani from Ganaur. Badoli had previously declared his decision not to seek re-election.

[With agency inputs]