BJP Finalises Candidates for Haryana Polls, Senior Leader Ram Bilas Sharma Denied Ticket

The BJP released its final list of candidates for the Haryana elections on Wednesday night. Senior leader Ram Bilas Sharma was denied a ticket for Mahendragarh. Instead, Kanwar Singh Yadav will contest from Mahendragarh. Sensing this move, Sharma had already filed his nomination papers earlier in the day.

Key Candidates and Constituencies

Rohtash Jangra has been fielded from Sirsa, while Satish Fagna will contest from Faridabad NIT. Sirsa is currently represented by Gopal Kanda of the Haryana Lokhit Party, an ally of the BJP. With this announcement, the BJP has named candidates for all 90 assembly seats.

Sharma, a prominent Brahmin face of the party, served as a minister in M L Khattar's government from 2014 to 2019 but lost the 2019 Assembly polls. He also held the position of BJP's Haryana unit president. The party has denied tickets to several sitting MLAs, including some ministers.

Internal Discontent and Rebellion

Amid growing discontent within the BJP over ticket distribution, party leader Karan Dev Kamboj suggested that rebellion could have been avoided if Chief Minister Nayab Saini had more influence in the allocation process. The second list of candidates released on Tuesday saw two ministers denied tickets and a change in the nominee for Pehowa.

Initially, Kamaljeet Singh Ajrana was nominated for Pehowa on September 4 but was replaced by Jai Bhagwan Sharma in the second list. Incumbent MLA and former minister Sandeep Singh was also denied re-nomination. Minister Banwari Lal, who represented Bawal, was replaced by Krishna Kumar.

First List and New Entrants

The first list of 67 candidates was released on September 4. It included Chief Minister Saini contesting from Ladwa and several new entrants rewarded with tickets. Shruti Choudhry, granddaughter of former chief minister Bansi Lal, joined the ruling party recently and is contesting from Tosham.

Following the first list announcement, rebellion emerged within BJP ranks. Minister Ranjit Singh Chautala and MLA Lakshman Dass Napa quit after being denied tickets. Other aspirants who were also denied tickets raised a banner of revolt.

Electoral Challenges

The BJP aims for a third consecutive victory in the Haryana Assembly polls scheduled for October 5. However, it faces stiff competition from a resurgent Congress hoping to leverage anti-incumbency sentiments. Saini remains the BJP's chief ministerial candidate for these elections.

The vote counting will occur on October 8.