HARYANA POLITICAL BIGWIGS LOBBY HARD FOR TWO RAJYA SABHA SEATS

With a few days left for filing of nominations, the lobbying by party stalwarts has intensified for the two Rajya Sabha seats whose elections are slated on June 10.

Political stalwarts, belonging to BJP and its alliance partner JJP and the Congress, are on their toes to lobby and get tickets for the coveted seats.

In view of the prevailing numerical strength in the Haryana Assembly, one seat each is set to go to the BJP-JJP alliance and the Congress. The schedule for much-awaited elections was issued by the Haryana State Election Commission on May 24. 

Several senior BJP leaders, including Captain Abhimanyu, OP Dhankar and Ram Vilas Sharma, who faced debacle in last assembly elections are in the fray for the ticket of Rajya Sabha seat. 

The party high command is the supreme authority to decide on the matter. Most of the leaders are lobbying for the Rajya Sabha who had lost the last assembly battle or denied for any organisational appointment or any other posts in the government except a few faces namely OP Dhankhar and Subhash Brala, the former state BJP president.

Another issue continues to remain in the talks whether the new candidate for the Rajya Sabha seat will be from the state or a parachute candidate like earlier. Last time, the party high command had decided to sent Dushyant Kumar Gautam to Rajya Sabha, a Delhi-based politician belonging to the backward class and political experts are of the opinion that the party is likely to come up with a previous choice.

One of the senior BJP leaders said on anonymity that several party stalwarts are putting their best to become the Rajya Sabha MP but the scene of activity has shifted to New Delhi.

In order to discuss the issue, the BJP state executive will meet in Hisar on May 27 and 28 and will deliberate on the forthcoming Rajya Sabha elections.

Contrary to the BJP, things are quite different in the Congress as the bigwigs are going through infighting for a long time which resulted in the weekend position of the party in the state. To some extent, the widened rift among the senior leaders is most likely to affect the Rajya Sabha polls as one of the senior leaders Kuldeep Bishnoi is believed to be upset with the party High command as well as Bhupendra Singh Hooda.

The party stalwarts namely Randeep Surjewala, the National media In-charge and General Secretary of All India Congress Committee (AICC), Kumari Shailja the former Congress State president are in the fray and being considered the strongest claimant for the post in the party.

Apart from this, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, the Leader of Opposition (LOP) and a senior party leader, exists as the most dominating and strongest party leader after he has been given a free hand by the party high command, and is also leaving no stone unturned to lobby for his loyalists.  

But it does not seem to be a cakewalk for him as the party high command is likely to decentralise the power in the party.

Giving tickets to any of his loyalists would not give a positive symbol among the party workers as he is already strong enough.  In wake of maintain a balance among the opposite factions, the party high command continues to mull before it announces the name of any candidate.