Congress Announces First List of 31 Candidates for Haryana Assembly Elections

Congress Announces First List of 31 Candidates for Haryana Assembly Elections

On Friday, the Congress party revealed its initial list of 31 candidates for the upcoming Haryana Assembly elections. Among the notable names, wrestling champion Vinesh Phogat was chosen to contest from the Julana seat, marking her entry into politics after joining Congress alongside fellow wrestler Bajrang Punia.

Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has been nominated to contest from his traditional Garhi Sampla-Kiloi constituency. Other key candidates include Surender Panwar for Sonipat, Jagbir Singh Malik for Gohana, and Bharat Bhushan Batra for Rohtak. Haryana Congress President Udai Bhan will contest from Hodal, while Mewa Singh has been pitted against BJP leader and current Chief Minister Nayab Saini in Ladwa.

For the Badli seat, Kuldeep Vata was nominated, while Geeta Bhukkal will represent Jhajjar (SC-reserved). Chiranjeev Rao is set to contest in Rewari, Aftab Ahmed in Nuh, and Neeraj Sharma in Faridabad NIT. The party also fielded JJP defector Ram Karan for Shahbad (reserved), along with Independent MLA Dharam Pal Gondar for Nilokheri, both of whom recently joined Congress.

The list followed a meeting of Congress’ Central Election Committee (CEC) in Delhi, attended by prominent leaders such as Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, K C Venugopal, Deepak Babaria, and Bhupinder Hooda.

Earlier this week, the BJP released a list of 67 candidates, excluding at least eight sitting MLAs, in an effort to counteract anti-incumbency after a decade in power.

Haryana will hold its Assembly elections on October 5, with results to be announced on October 8. Nominations for candidates must be filed by September 12, with scrutiny on September 13 and withdrawals permitted until September 16.