Haryana Assembly Elections 2024: Full-scale Announcement of Major Nomination and Party Candidate Declaration in Full Swing
The campaign gained pace on Tuesday with major leaders filing their nominations for the October 5 polls, as the dust settles on the upcoming Assembly elections.
Campaign Heat Gains Pace
Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and State Congress President Udai Bhan were among the key leaders who threw their hat into the election ring amidst escalating heat between the main contenders.
Ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which is seeking a third consecutive term in the state, also issued its second list of candidates, while Aam Aadmi Party, which tried to forge an alliance with the Congress without success, announced its second and third lists. This is expected to be a keen contest with Indian National Congress and Jannayak Janta Party also in the fray.
Lists of Candidates Issued by BJP, Important Replacements Announced
BJP has begun announcing the names of its candidates in the elections with a strategy. The party issued its second list containing 21 names on Tuesday. This was the second in the series of lists after the first that had come out on September 4. The second list contained some important replacements: Kamaljeet Singh Ajrana was replaced by Jai Bhagwan Sharma for the Pehowa seat as his name generated opposition upon its announcement.
It also denied tickets to several sitting legislators in what seemed a visible rejigging order. It did not re-nominate the sitting MLA, Sandeep Singh, and dropped ministers Banwari Lal and Seema Trikha to hand over tickets to their replacements. Krishna Kumar and Dhanesh Adlakha were named as contestants for their respective constituencies in indication of BJP’s attempt towards refreshing its candidate list.
Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini filed his nomination from Ladwa, accompanied by Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Kurukshetra MP Naveen Jindal at the event. Ahead of filing the papers, Saini had a tractor-led roadshow in Ladwa as he made his strong presence felt. Khattar later told reporters, “Voters have made up their minds to form a BJP government for a third time.”
AAP’s Candidate Announcements
Even as an alliance with Congress did not work out, Aam Aadmi Party is forging ahead with its election campaign by announcing its second and third lists of candidates on Tuesday. While nine candidates figured in the second list, the third list announced 11 candidates, taking the total number so far to 40 out of 90 assembly seats in Haryana.
The party has fielded a set of new faces, too-Pravin Guskhani, who is pitted against former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda from Garhi Sampla Kiloi. Other prominent AAP candidates are Bheem Singh Rathi from Radaur, Amar Singh from Nilokheri and Amit Kumar from Israna. The AAP was trying to wrest space in the state’s political arena by punching a slate of fresh candidates into the fray.
Congress and JJP Nominations
Meanwhile, on the Congress front, State President Udai Bhan also filed his nomination papers formally for the Hodal SC seat, continuing the party’s effort towards regaining its lost hold over the Haryana Assembly. Anti-incumbency sentiment and rejuvenation of the leadership are two key factors Congress banks on to recapture the state government.
In the JJP camp, its key leader Digvijay Singh Chautala filed his nomination from Dabwali seat. The JJP under Dushyant Chautala is another heavyweight contender in the current polls as it tries to leverage its regional popularity for a sizeable number of seats.
Another big name entered this battle when former finance minister Capt Abhimanyu filed his nomination from the Narnaund constituency. The others who have filed papers from the BJP are Rao Narbir Singh for Badshahpur and Mukesh Sharma for Gurgaon.
Controversies and Key Developments
One of the stranger twists in the lead-up to the elections came from Mahavir Phogat, the uncle of Olympian Vinesh Phogat. Mahavir made the surprising statement that Vinesh ought to have tried to win an Olympic gold in 2028, rather than entering politics. Vinesh Phogat is contesting the Julana constituency on a Congress ticket and had attracted considerable attention with her entry into politics.
Apart from Mahavir Phogat’s confidence, the clout which the Phogat family enjoys in the area will be one of the key factors that will decide Julana’s fate. Meanwhile, Vinesh Phogat is doing her best as far as her new political sojourn goes, with full support from her party.
Closing of Nominations and Election Outlook
With the nomination window for the elections closing on September 12, all major parties will have an important next couple of days, as they put in place their candidates before gear up for the final stretch of the campaign. The number of nominations that have been filed so far is 277, with 127 candidates filing their papers on Tuesday.
The BJP, however, hopes to secure a third successive term in Haryana based on its manifesto of development and leadership under Nayab Singh Saini. But its immediate opponents are formidable ones in the Congress and AAP, who expect to gain from anti-incumbency sentiments.
With this, the stage is all set for an intense electoral battle on October 5, with counting scheduled for October 8. Therefore, this election would mark a defining factor in the future course of governance in Haryana and the political future of some important players in state politics, including Nayab Singh Saini, Udai Bhan, and the AAP.
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