Chandigarh, March 23 (IANS) The BJP may have national ambitions to form the next union government, but the party seems to be finding it difficult to get suitable candidates for the Lok Sabha seats in Haryana. The BJP is largely banking on turncoat leaders and others to establish itself in the state.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is contesting eight out of Haryana's 10 Lok Sabha seats and its alliance partner Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) is contesting the remaining two. Voting takes place April 10.
The BJP has fielded turncoat leaders for at least four seats while it has a newcomer non-politician for another seat. Only on three seats, the BJP has been able to find leaders from within its own ranks.
The party has fielded former union minister Rao Inderjit Singh for the Gurgaon Lok Sabha seat, adjoining the national capital. Singh, a sitting Congress MP from Gurgaon who was at loggerheads with Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda for the last three years, finally exited from the Congress earlier this year and joined the BJP.
Singh is a prominent Ahir community leader in the Gurgaon belt and has good influence in the area which is otherwise well known for its real estate goldmine and the land scams that have taken place in recent years. Among others, he faces Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and strategist Yogendra Yadav for the Gurgaon seat.
The BJP has fielded at least two other leaders who quit the Congress recently and joined the BJP on the eve of the elections. They are Dharambir Singh for the Bhiwani-Mahendergarh seat and Ramesh Kaushik for the Sonipat seat.
Dharambir was chief parliamentary secretary (CPS) in the Hooda government till earlier this month. He quit the government and as Congress legislator and is now a BJP candidate.
Another turncoat fielded by the BJP is Raj Kumar Saini for the Kurukshetra seat. Saini was a minister in the Haryana Vikas Party (HVP) government headed by then chief minister Bansi Lal (1996-99).
For the Karnal Lok Sabha seat, the BJP has fielded a political greenhorn Ashwini Chopra `Minna'. He is a leading vernacular newspaper owner based in Delhi.
From its own ranks, the BJP has fielded Krishan Pal Gurjar from Faridabad, farmers' leader Om Prakash Dhankar from Rohtak and old war-horse Rattan Lal Kataria for the Ambala reserved seat.
The Karnal seat was earlier left by the BJP for its alliance partner HJC but after the HJC fumbled on announcing a candidate there and opted to take the Sirsa Lok Sabha seat instead, the BJP immediately announced Minna for Karnal.
The HJC has fielded its president and sitting MP Kuldeep Bishnoi from Hisar. He used to be a Congress MP earlier before parting ways in 2007.
For the Sirsa-reserved seat, the HJC has fielded former MP Sushil Indora. He was earlier with the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and later with the Congress. He is now part of the HJC.
The BJP has always banked on the INLD and HJC for an alliance in Haryana. The party has not fared well in the Haryana elections whenever it contested alone.
Tamil Nadu: Uproar over 47 deaths due to poisonous liquor in Tamil Nadu, uproar inside and outside the assembly; heavy police force also deployed
The deaths due to the consumption of illegal country liquor in the Kallakurichi district of Tamil Nadu have created a stir. So far 47 people have died in this case. The condition of 30 of the people
Delhi Assembly Session: The Assembly session begins today, CM Atishi will present the action plan; the Opposition is fully prepared
The two-day session of the Assembly will begin on Thursday. The newly appointed Chief Minister Atishi can present the government's action plan in the House. Some announcements can also be made. At the
Know why Rohit Sharma flopped in 5 reasons: The bat did not move in front of fast bowling, looked mentally tired
Rohit Sharma has always been considered one of the most talented players of the current era. Legendary player Adam Gilchrist had said in the second season of IPL held in 2009 that Hitman is fully
IND vs ENG: Samson has not been able to perform consistently well for India, scored three centuries but could not score 5+ runs six times
There are a lot of expectations from star batsman Sanju Samson in the five-match T20 series between India and England. However, he has failed to perform as expected in the first three T20s. He has
Be warriors, not worriers, Modi tells students
New Delhi, Feb 22 (IANS) Asking students to "become warriors instead of worriers", Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday said reports of suicide by students due to examination stress were painful
Trinamool retains Bongaon, Krishnaganj seats
Kolkata, Feb 16 (IANS) West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress Monday retained the Bongaon Lok Sabha and Krishnaganj assembly seats where by-polls were held last week.The BJP finished second in
Rahul Gandhi had gone to surround the government, former foreign minister of Congress Natwar Singh told wrong
A day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government of bringing China and Pakistan closer in the Lok Sabha, former External Affairs Minister K
Saif Ali Khan: 'The garbage should be removed', Nitesh Rane's words got harsh on the attack on Saif; also mentioned Sushant
After Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam, Maharashtra minister Nitesh Rane raised serious questions about the attack on film actor Saif Ali Khan. The BJP leader accused the BJP of hiding the truth of the
US Firing: More than 100 teenagers were having a house party in Georgia, 2 were killed in sudden firing; 6 others injured
Two teenagers were killed in a shooting in Douglasville, Georgia. There are reports of other 6 injured in the incident.
Coronavirus lockdown till May 3, areas with no hotspots to get conditional relief from April 20: PM Modi
प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी ने कोविद -19 के प्रसार को रोकने के लिए 3 मई तक