RS polls in Haryana: BJP, Cong nominees file nomination; Satish Nandal enters contest as independent

Chandigarh, Mar 5 (PTI) Satish Nandal, who had unsuccessfully contested the 2019 assembly polls as a BJP nominee, on Thursday filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha polls from Haryana as an Independent, becoming the third entrant in the contest after BJP's Sanjay Bhatia and Karamvir Singh Boudh of the Congress.

Prior to Nandal, Bhatia and Boudh filed their nominations here on the last day of filing of nominations for the two seats falling vacant from Haryana. BJP members Kiran Choudhry and Ram Chander Jangra are set to complete their terms on April 9.

With Nandal throwing his hat in the ring, the polls are set to witness an interesting contest.

Nandal had lost to Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda from the Garhi-Sampla-Kiloi constituency in Rohtak district in the 2019 assembly polls.

On being asked whether he was still with the BJP, Nandal told reporters that he holds the position of the state vice president in the party.

BJP's Bhatia (58) is considered a confidant of Union minister and former Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar. Boudh, a retired Haryana government employee, has been a Dalit activist who has raised issues pertaining to the community on various platforms. He is currently the coordinator of the National Scheduled Castes department of the Congress.

While filing his nomination papers, Nandal was accompanied by Independent MLAs Savitri Jindal, Rajesh Joon and Devender Kadyan. These three MLAs are supporting the Nayab Singh Saini government in Haryana.

After filing his papers, Nandal said he will approach all the MLAs, irrespective of their party affiliations, for their support.

Kadyan said the three Independent MLAs wanted that their voice should also be heard in Delhi (at national level).

After discussing with many like-minded MLAs, we persuaded Nandal to file for nomination, said Kadyan.

Jindal also said they are supporting Nandal and want him to win, and raise their voice in Rajya Sabha.

Joon said they will seek votes from the BJP, Congress and INLD for Nandal.

We expect that he will win with maximum votes, he said.

In the 90-member assembly, the ruling BJP has 48 MLAs, Congress 37 and the INLD two besides the three Independents.

Bhatia was accompanied by Chief Minister Saini, Haryana BJP president Mohan Lal Badoli and other party leaders while filing his nomination.

Prior to that Bhatia met Saini at his residence here.

Saini congratulated Bhatia for being declared as the Rajya Sabha candidate.

"I met senior BJP leader and former MP from Karnal, respected Sanjay Bhatia ji at Sant Kabir Kutir and extended my heartiest congratulations and best wishes to him on being declared the Rajya Sabha candidate from Haryana. Your vast experience and dedication towards public service will play an important role in furthering the interests of the state in the Upper House," Saini posted on X.

Bhatia, while thanking the party leadership for selecting him as a Rajya Sabha candidate, said he will try to live up to the expectations of the people and his party.

Speaking to reporters before filing his nomination, Boudh thanked party leader Rahul Gandhi for showing faith in him. He was accompanied by Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala, State Congress President Rao Narendra Singh and Congress general secretary in-charge of Haryana B K Hariprasad.

On the last day of filing nominations, the Congress announced Boudh's name.

Surjewala said by nominating such a person to Rajya Sabha, the Congress has again proved that it not only stands by the exploited and deprived section but also gives priority to a person who is working at the ground level.

Boudh was an aspirant for the Congress ticket in the 2024 Haryana assembly polls from Mullana reserve assembly segment. However, at that time the party gave the ticket to Pooja Chaudhary, wife of party's Ambala MP Varun Chaudhary, and she went on to win the seat.

Sources said that by fielding Boudh for the Rajya Sabha polls, the party has tried to balance caste equations.

In the Congress' Haryana unit, Leader of Opposition and former chief minister Hooda comes from the Jat community while state Congress chief Rao Narender Singh is from the OBC community.

Notifications for the polls were issued on February 26. Polling, if required, will be held on March 16 between 9 am and 4 pm, and votes will be counted from 5 pm the same day.

Scrutiny of nominations will be held on March 6, while the last date for the withdrawal of candidature is March 9.

According to the Election Commission's poll schedule issued recently, 37 Rajya Sabha seats fall vacant on April 2 and 9, from 10 states, including Haryana, Maharashtra, Himachal, and Tamil Nadu.

In August 2024, Kiran Choudhry, a former minister, was elected unopposed in the Rajya Sabha bypoll from Haryana. She had joined the BJP ahead of the October 2024 assembly elections after quitting the Congress.

The bypoll was necessitated after the Congress' Deepender Singh Hooda was elected to the Lok Sabha from Rohtak. His Rajya Sabha term was to end on April 9. PTI SUN VSD ZMN