Haryana Assembly Election: BJP Springs Surprise, Drops 9 Sitting MLAs In First Candidate List

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its first list of 67 candidates for the upcoming Haryana Assembly elections on Wednesday.

Notably, nine sitting MLAs were dropped, reflecting strategic changes ahead of the polls. Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, currently the MLA from Karnal, will contest from the Ladwa seat in this election.

Anil Vij, Haryana's health minister, is set to contest from the Ambala Cantt Assembly seat, while BJP Rajya Sabha MP Kiran Choudhury's daughter, Shruti Chaudhury, has been fielded from Tosham.

Additionally, Devendra Babli, Ram Kumar Gautam, and Anup Dhanak-MLAs from the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), led by Dushyant Chautala-were awarded BJP tickets for the Tohana, Safidon, and Uklana constituencies, respectively.

Other notable candidates include former BJP MP Sunita Duggal, contesting from Ratia; Bhavya Bishnoi, son of former MP Kuldeep Bishnoi, representing Adampur; and Aarti Singh, daughter of Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh, from Ateli.

Rao Narbir Singh, who recently met Union Home Minister Amit Shah to discuss his future with the BJP, has secured a ticket for the Badshahpur seat.

However, several sitting MLAs did not make the cut. Palwal MLA Deepak Mangla, Faridabad MLA Narendra Gupta, and Gurugram MLA Sudhir Singhla are among those dropped.

Cabinet Minister Ranjit Chautala, who represented Rania, and Sitaram Yadav from Ateli were also not included in the list.

This candidate selection process was finalized in a BJP meeting on August 29, chaired by party president JP Nadda, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah also present.

The Haryana Assembly elections will be held on October 5, with results announced on October 8.