BJP's chief ministerial hopefuls in Haryana

Ram Bilas Sharma, Manohar Lal Khattar, Captain Abhimanyu, Sushma Swaraj are the candidates

Here are a few candidates among whom one will be the new chief minister of Haryana

Ram Bilas Sharma: The 65-year-old BJP state president is considered the frontrunner. He has been a four time MLA from Mahendragarh, is a good orator, has an RSS background and was the health minister in the Bansi Lal government. He is close to senior leader Sushma Swaraj and hails from the influential Brahmin community of Haryana.

Manohar Lal Khattar

Manohar Lal Khattar: A bachelor and a former RSS pracharak, Khattar is member of BJP’s national executive. He could be the surprise choice. He represents the sizeable Punjabi community of Haryana. Currently, he is BJP general secretary (organisation). His lack of experience as a legislator could be a drawback. His debuted in the electoral battlefield in this election, winning from Karnal.

Capt Abhimanyu

 

Captain Abhimanyu: The 46-year-old Jat face of the party won his seat from Narnaund. He had contested the 2004 Lok Sabha polls against Bhupinder Singh Hooda, the then state Congress president, when he finished second. In 2009, he contested against Hooda’s son Deepender and again finished second. He was until recently BJP’s national spokesperson. He is the son in law of BJP’s other Jat leader, the late Sahib Singh Verma. However, BJP’s efforts to contest this election on the consolidation of non-Jat votes could nix Abhimanyu’s chances.

Sushma Swaraj

Sushma Swaraj: The external affairs minister is being talked about as a possibility. However, Swaraj is said to be unwilling to move to Haryana. She hails from Ambala Cantt and was an MLA at 25, when she defeated Chief Minister Bansi Lal in the 1977 Janata wave. She again won the seat in 1987 and was a minister in the Devi Lal cabinet.