Congress faces ticket distribution turmoil in Haryana ahead of Lok Sabha polls

There’s been significant controversy in Haryana over the allocation of Congress’s Lok Sabha tickets. Despite meetings with Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge and Sonia Gandhi, disputes persist over 6 out of 9 seats. Notably, one seat in Kurukshetra has been allocated to I.N.D.I.A. Block partner Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

The ticket distribution has divided into two factions: one led by former CM Bhupendra Hooda and Pradhan Udaybhan, and the other by Kumari Selja and Randeep Surjewala. Conflict arises regarding the selection of candidates within these groups.

Due to the deadlock, Congress hasn’t been able to release the list, even after the Central Election Committee’s meeting. With the rising tensions, the authority to finalize candidates now rests with the Congress high command.

Seats with agreed candidates so far:

• Rohtak: Former CM Bhupendra Hooda’s Rajya Sabha MP son, Deependra Hooda, is slated to contest from here against BJP’s Arvind Sharma.
• Sirsa: Kumari Selja will contest from this seat against BJP’s Ashok Tanwar.
• Ambala: Varun Mulana’s ticket has been confirmed here, with his competitor being former MP Late Banto Kataria, wife of Ratanlal Kataria.

In Hisar, former MPs Brijendra Singh and Jai Prakash are competing. The Selja-Surjewala group supports Brijendra Singh, while the Hooda group favors JP.

For the Karnal seat, Bhupendra Singh Hooda advocates for Chanakya Pandit, son of Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Sharma, while Selja-Surjewala suggests Congress national secretaries Virendra Rathore and Virendra Bulleshah.

In Bhiwani Mahendergarh, Kiran Chaudhary’s daughter and former MP Shruti Chaudhary, and MLA Rao Dan Singh are potential candidates. There’s a conflict between the factions regarding this seat.

The Gurugram seat sees Raj Babbar as the Hooda group’s favored candidate and Captain Ajay Yadav for Selja-Surjewala’s faction.

In Faridabad, Bhupendra Singh Hooda backs former minister Karan Singh Dalal, while Selja-Surjewala favors a candidate from the Gurjar caste. When discussions failed after the Sonia-Kharge meeting, a high-level committee was formed, including Salman Khurshid and Madhusudan Mistry. The final decision now rests with Mallikarjun Kharge.

Haryana Congress in-charge Deepak Babaria stated that no further committees would be formed, and all reports would be submitted to Kharge for the final decision.