Congress, which has been in opposition for the last two terms in Haryana, is very excited about the upcoming assembly elections. There are two main reasons behind this, the party’s performance in the recently held Lok Sabha elections and secondly that the party has received a large number of applications for tickets from every assembly constituency. Haryana Congress spokesperson Kewal Dhingra told Aaj Tak that the party has received a total of 2,556 applications for 90 seats till August 10, 2024. Let us tell you that August 10 was the last date for submitting the application.
Dhingra said, “The last date has ended and now the applications received for tickets are being scrutinized. The state unit and AICC are conducting surveys to select suitable candidates from each assembly constituency. The scrutiny committee will submit the list to AICC. Please note that the authority to give tickets lies with AICC.”
According to the list of applications available with Aaj Tak, the maximum number of 88 applications have been received from Nilokhari assembly constituency, while 86 leaders have sought tickets in Julana assembly constituency.
Dalit leaders have also shown a lot of interest in getting tickets. Many reserved assembly constituencies have received more applications than the general category seats. The highest number of applications, 78, have come from Bhawani Kheda, followed by Uklana, Kalanaur, Kharkhauda and Bawal with 57, 55, 54 and 52 applications respectively.
Hooda’s opponents, JJP rebels and relatives of BJP leaders are also in the race for tickets:
Some of BS Hooda’s key opponents, such as Sirsa MP and AICC general secretary Kumari Selja and Rajya Sabha MP and AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala, are keen to contest the elections but have not formally applied for tickets. Selja and Surjewala have expressed their willingness but have left the final decision to the party’s top leadership. Responding to a question on contesting the elections, Surjewala said, “The party’s central election committee will decide on the tickets.”
On Sunday, Selja and Surjewala addressed a large political gathering in Jind. Selja refrained from talking about the chief ministerial candidate, saying the chief minister will be decided after the elections. Three MLAs who recently joined the Congress from JJP, Ram Karan Kala, Ishwar Singh and Devendra Babli, are also interested in tickets. According to sources, Kala has also demanded a Congress ticket. Journalist Sarv Mittal Kamboj has demanded a ticket from Rania assembly constituency. Rajbir Singh Lala, younger brother of the BJP MP from Bhiwani-Mahendragarh, has also demanded a ticket from Tosham assembly constituency.
Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is excited about the number of applications received for tickets and has described it as a sign of a Congress wave in Haryana. Hooda said, “Thousands of applications have been received. This means that there is a Congress wave in Haryana. The people of Haryana have already decided to elect a Congress government.”
Reacting to the number of applications received by the Congress, political analysts said that the biggest challenge for the Congress party would be to pacify the dissidents who may contest against the party candidates. BJP spokesperson Praveen Attri said, “Congress is still a divided house. The party leaders are dreaming, as the dissidents will prove to be a big challenge for the party candidates.”
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)