NEW DELHI: The joust for tickets in Haryana Congress ahead of the Assembly elections has now reached the doorstep of party president Sonia Gandhi. Former Haryana Congress chief Ashok Tanwar and his supporters on Wednesday held a protest outside her residence, 10 Janpath, while party MLA Kiran Choudhry threatened to drop out of the fray if her loyalists were not given tickets to contest the polls on October 21.
The party has been struggling to finalise its list of candidates in the 90 member Haryana assembly, with various factions demanding tickets for their favoured few. Tanwar, who was removed as party chief last month in light of his differences with former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, alleged that seats are being sold and deserving candidates are being turned away.
The party is expected to come out with its list soon, keeping in mind the October 4 deadline for filing nominations. “BJP approached me several times to join the party but I will not leave the Congress. Some people are destroying the party in the state and we will not let that happen. I am here to seek justice from the Congress president,” Tanwar said.
According to sources, none of the candidates suggested by Tanwar have been included in the final list. Similar concerns have also been raised by former Leader of Opposition in Haryana assembly Kiran Chaudhury.
Party sources said the Tosham MLA has given an ultimatum to the party to give tickets to her supporters, failing which she would not contest the polls.