Looking to get the first-mover advantage in the Haryana Assembly polls, the BJP has released its first list of candidates, declaring names for 67 out of the state's 90 constituencies. The list includes the names of Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, who will be contesting from the Ladwa constituency, and former minister Anil Vij.
Mr Vij will be the BJP's candidate from the Ambala Cantonment constituency, a seat he has won three successive times since 2009.
Mr Saini, who was an MP from Kurukshetra until he replaced Manohar Lal Khattar as the Haryana chief minister in March this year, currently represents the Karnal Assembly seat, which he won in a bypoll in June.
The other candidates include Ambala Mayor and former Union Minister Vinod Sharma's wife Shakti Rani Sharma, who will be contesting from the Kalka assembly constituency. Ms Sharma is the mother of Manu Sharma, a convict in the Jessica Lal murder case.
Shruti Choudhry who left the Congress and joined the BJP with her mother - Rajya Sabha MP Kiran Choudhry - in June has been given a ticket from Tosham. Three former legislators from the Jannayak Janata Party, which was the BJP's ally until this year, have also been fielded. These are Devender Singh Babli from Tohana, Ram Kumar Gautam from Safidon and Anoop Dhanak from Uklana.
Some of the other inclusions are Deepak Hooda, who has been the captain of the Indian Kabaddi team, from Meham and Union Minister Om Prakash Dhankar, who will be contesting from Badli.
The list includes eight women and the party has dropped some MLAs, including some ministers.
MP Naveen Jindal's mother, Savitri Jindal, who was widely expected to get a ticket from Hisar, has not made the cut and the party has decided to stick with the incumbent, Kamal Gupta, who is also a state minister.
The upcoming elections in Haryana will be crucial for the BJP, especially because it won only five of the state's 10 Lok Sabha seats after sweeping all of them in 2019. It will be an opportunity for the party to prove that it remains popular with voters after failing - for the first time in 10 years - to achieve a majority on its own in the general elections.
The Congress, which is seen to be gaining ground in the state, is also likely to pose a challenge and could emerge stronger if its alliance talks with INDIA partner AAP are successful. The party believes it has a strong chance of dislodging the BJP, which has ruled Haryana since 2014.
Haryana will vote on October 5 and counting will be held on October 8.
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