Congress Unveils Third List of Candidates for Haryana Polls, Includes Surjewala's Son

The Congress party unveiled its third list of 40 candidates for the Haryana Assembly elections on Wednesday. Among them is Aditya Surjewala, son of party MP Randeep Surjewala, who will contest from Kaithal. This brings the total number of Congress candidates announced to 81 for the 90-member assembly.

Key Candidates Announced

The latest list includes Chander Mohan from Panchkula, Nirmal Singh from Ambala City, Akram Khan from Jagadhri, Balwan Singh Daulatpuri from Fatehabad, Ram Niwas Rara from Hisar, Pradeep Narwal from Bawani Khera SC, and Mohammad Israil from Hathin. The Congress has yet to declare candidates for nine seats, sparking speculation about a potential last-minute alliance with AAP and other smaller parties.

Previous Announcements

On Friday, the Congress announced 32 candidates, including former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi and state unit chief Udai Bhan from Hodal. Wrestler Vinesh Phogat will contest from Julana. Earlier, the party had released a list of 31 candidates and later confirmed Balbir Singh's candidature for the Israna reserved constituency. Singh is the current MLA from Israna.

Seat-Sharing Talks

The Congress has been in discussions with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) regarding seat-sharing for the Haryana polls. However, these talks have reached an impasse, with both parties releasing multiple candidate lists independently. Some Congress leaders have voiced concerns about forming an alliance with Arvind Kejriwal's AAP.

Upcoming Election Dates

Haryana's assembly elections are scheduled for October 5, with vote counting set for October 8. The deadline for filing nominations is Thursday. The Congress has renominated all its 28 sitting MLAs and fielded Mewa Singh from Ladwa to challenge Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini.

The election dynamics in Haryana are shaping up as parties finalise their candidates and strategies. The outcome will be closely watched as it could impact future political alignments in the state.