BJP fields Sandeep, Dutt, Phogat in opposition bastions
Chief minister Manohar Lal will contest from Karnal seat that he won in 2014.
By ET Bureau | Updated:
PTI
Phogat has been fielded from Dadri. Pehowa and Dadri were won by INLD and Baroda by the Congress in 2014.
NEW DELHI: Former hockey captain Sandeep Singh, wrestlers Yogeshwar Dutt and Babita Phogat figure in the first list of 78 BJP candidates for the Haryana Assembly elections. The party has denied tickets to two ministers and seven MLAs.
Chief minister Manohar Lal will contest from Karnal seat that he won in 2014. Other prominent candidates in the fray are finance minister Captain Abhimanyu (Nirnaund), BJP state chief Subash Barala (Tohana), health minister Anil Vij (Ambala Cantt) and agriculture minister OP Dhankar (Badli).
BJP sources said the main reason for dropping the sitting MLAs is their rebellion against the CM earlier. This was quelled when PM Narendra Modi firmly backed the CM. Some more rebels are likely to be dropped in the remaining 12 seats. 38 sitting MLAs have been fielded again. BJP had won 47 seats in 2014.
PWD minister Rao Narbir Singh (Badshahpur) as well as industry minister Vipul Goel (Faridabad) have been dropped. Singh was in the midst of a controversy over a degree while Goel is said to be facing anti-incumbency due to lack of development work.
Sandeep Singh will contest from Pehowa in Kurukshetra. Dutt, an Olympic bronze medallist, will be in the fray from Baroda in Sonepat.
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Phogat has been fielded from Dadri. Pehowa and Dadri were won by INLD and Baroda by the Congress in 2014.
Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh reportedly wants a ticket for his daughter Aarti Rao from Rewari while another Union minister Krishan Pal Gujjar is also said to be keen on a ticket for his son, Devender. However, BJP state chief had said earlier that no relatives of party leaders will be given a ticket.
BJP has given ticket to nine women in the first list. There are two Muslim candidates—Zakir Hussain (Nuh) and Naseem Ahmed (Ferozepur Zirka). Both had won from these seats in 2014 on an INLD ticket.
Pawan Beniwal will be the BJP candidate from Ellenabad, the seat won by Abhay Chautala (INLD) in 2014. Lila Ram Gurjar will fight from Kaithal, the constituency represented by Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala. Pitted against former Congress chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi is Satish Nandal of BJP.
