Haryana Assembly Elections: Prominent Nominations and Party Candidate Lists Announced

The Haryana election campaign gained momentum on Tuesday as key figures, including Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and state Congress president Udai Bhan, submitted their nominations for the October 5 assembly elections. The ruling BJP also unveiled its second list of 21 candidates. The AAP, which failed to form an alliance with Congress, released its second and third lists of 20 candidates each.

Chief Minister Saini filed his nomination from the Ladwa constituency, accompanied by Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Kurukshetra MP Naveen Jindal. Before submitting his papers, Saini led a roadshow in Ladwa and drove a tractor. Speaking to reporters, Khattar expressed confidence in the BJP forming the government for a third term. "Voters have made up their minds to form a BJP government for a third time," he said.

BJP's Candidate Lists and Changes

The BJP's second list of candidates included changes such as replacing Kamaljeet Singh Ajrana with Jai Bhagwan Sharma for the Pehowa seat. Incumbent MLA Sandeep Singh was denied re-nomination. The list, announced by BJP national general secretary Arun Singh, featured 21 names but did not include candidates for Mahendragarh, NIT Faridabad, and Sirsa seats.

In its first list released on September 4, the BJP had nominated Kamaljeet Singh Ajrana for Pehowa but faced opposition to his candidature. Consequently, Jai Bhagwan Sharma was named instead. The party also denied tickets to ministers Banwari Lal and Seema Trikha, replacing them with Krishna Kumar and Dhanesh Adlakha respectively.

AAP's Candidate Announcements

The AAP released its second list of nine candidates earlier in the day and followed it up with a third list of 11 candidates late at night. The party's first list of 20 candidates was announced on Monday. In total, AAP has declared candidates for 40 out of the 90-member Haryana Assembly seats.

Among those listed in AAP's third announcement were Pravin Guskhani against former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda from Garhi Sampla Kiloi constituency and Bheem Singh Rathi from Radaur. The party also fielded Amar Singh from Nilokheri and Amit Kumar from Israna.

Congress and JJP Nominations

State Congress president Udai Bhan filed his nomination from Hodal SC seat while Jannayak Janta Party’s Digvijay Singh Chautala submitted his papers for Dabwali seat. Former finance minister Capt Abhimanyu also filed his nomination from Narnaund seat.

Former Haryana minister Rao Narbir Singh and BJP leader Mukesh Sharma filed their nominations from Badshahpur and Gurgaon respectively. Sharma was accompanied by Gurugram MP and Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh during the submission.

Other Key Developments

Olympian Vinesh Phogat’s uncle Mahavir Phogat commented on her political entry, suggesting she should have focused on winning an Olympic gold in 2028 instead. Vinesh Phogat is contesting from Julana on a Congress ticket. Mahavir Phogat expressed confidence that the BJP would retain power in Haryana for a third consecutive term.

The nomination window for the assembly polls closes on September 12. On Tuesday alone, 127 candidates filed their papers, bringing the total number of nominations to 277 so far, according to officials.

The BJP is aiming for a hat-trick in the upcoming elections but faces stiff competition from a resurgent Congress looking to leverage anti-incumbency sentiments. Nayab Saini is the BJP's chief ministerial candidate for the October 5 elections, with vote counting scheduled for October 8.