CHANDIGARH: The Opposition in Haryana hasn't seemed to have learnt its lessons. Despite their poor performance in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, many political families have made it to the first list of 84 candidates released by Congress on Wednesday night. Aimed at keeping the power within their family, the list has a fair share of kin of stalwart leaders of the state.
In the list released by the grand old party, both sons of former late chief minister Bhajan Lal have been given tickets. Sitting MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi has been re-nominated from Adampur and his elder brother and former Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Chander Mohan, who was away from politics temporarily, has been fielded from Panchkula.
Mohan had suddenly disappeared in 2008 as he gave up his political career, family and religion for love when he was the Deputy CM in Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led Congress Government and had then resurfaced as Chand Mohammad after embracing Islam and marrying former assistant advocate general, Anuradha Bali, who had changed her name to Fiza Mohammad.
Hansi MLA Renuka Bishnoi, Kuldeep's wife and the only sitting MLA Congress has not fielded, is also dropped from the list as she does not want to contest this time.
Son and daughter-in-law of late CM Bansi Lal are in the fray as well. Former Congress and sitting MLA Legislature Party leader Kiran Choudhry has been given ticket from Tosham assembly segment and this is her fifth assembly election. Kiran had has differences with former CM Hooda and was recently shunted out from the post of CLP leader. Former BCCI chief and Bansi Lal's son Ranbir Mahendra has been given ticket from Badhra. He was defeated by 29-year-old Sukhvinder Singh of BJP in the last
assembly elections.
Former president of the Haryana Youth Congress, Chiranjeev Rao who is son of former state cabinet minister and powerful state party leader Capt Ajay Yadav has been fielded from Rewari. He is replacing his father who has been a six-time MLA from Rewari and he had recently announced that he will not contest the assembly elections this time. Chiranjeev is son-in-law of former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav. Thus former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejasvi Yadav would be present when he files his nominations.
Rao had earlier contested the Lok Sabha elections from Gurugram and lost to Union Minister Rao Inderjit.
Meanwhile, Mandeep Chatha, son of late state minister HS Chatha is the party candidate from Pehowa and Varun Chaudhry son of former state congress president Phool Chand Mullana is contesting from Mullana.
Playing safe, the party has given tickets to 16 of the 17 sitting MLAs in the state. The list also includes turncoats which have switched their loyalties and joined the Congress recently. These include former INLD state chief Ashok Arora from Thanesar, former INLD MLA Pradeep Choudhry from Kalka, Jai Prakash an Independent MLA, from Kalayat and Shamsuddin from Sohna.