BJP’s Sanjay Bhatia and Congress’ Karamvir Singh Boudh will file their nominations here on Thursday for the Rajya Sabha elections from Haryana. Two Rajya Sabha seats from the state are falling vacant. The Congress announced Boudh’s name on the last day of filing nominations.
Boudh is a retired Haryana government employee and a Dalit activist. He has raised issues related to the Dalit community on several platforms. The BJP had earlier announced that it would field its former Karnal MP, Bhatia, for the Rajya Sabha seat from Haryana. Boudh had also sought the Congress ticket for the 2024 Haryana Assembly elections from the reserved Mullana seat. However, the party gave the ticket to Pooja Chaudhary, wife of Ambala MP Varun Chaudhary, who later won the election.
Sources said that by nominating Boudh, the Congress has tried to balance caste equations in the state.
In the Haryana Congress unit, Leader of Opposition and former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda belongs to the Jat community, while state Congress chief Rao Narender Singh comes from the OBC community.
Before Boudh’s name was finalised, several leaders were being discussed as possible candidates. Among them was former Haryana Congress chief Udai Bhan. Boudh had earlier served as chairman of the SC/ST Confederation of Employees. He was also appointed the coordinator for Dalit outreach during the previous assembly elections by the Congress.
Boudh thanked the Congress leadership, including Rahul Gandhi, K C Venugopal and party president Mallikarjun Kharge, for giving him the nomination. Boudh said the party leadership has shown trust in a common worker and given him a major responsibility. He added that Rahul Gandhi and the Congress have always stood with farmers, labourers, Dalits, the poor and other weaker sections, and continue to raise their voices.
From Haryana, two Rajya Sabha seats are falling vacant. The terms of BJP MPs Kiran Choudhry and Ram Chander Jangra will end on April 9. In the 90-member Haryana Assembly, the BJP has 48 MLAs while the Congress has 37. The INLD has two MLAs, and three Independents support the BJP. A candidate needs 31 votes to win a Rajya Sabha seat from the state.
Bhatia, 58, is considered close to Union Minister and former Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar.
The Election Commission issued the notification for the polls on February 26. If required, voting will take place on March 16 between 9 am and 4 pm, and counting will begin at 5 pm the same day.
The last date for filing nominations is March 5. Scrutiny will take place on March 6, while candidates can withdraw their nominations until March 9.
As per the Election Commission schedule, 37 Rajya Sabha seats from 10 states — including Haryana, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu — will fall vacant on April 2 and April 9.
In August 2024, Kiran Choudhry was elected unopposed in a Rajya Sabha bypoll from Haryana. She had joined the BJP before the October 2024 assembly elections after leaving the Congress. The bypoll was held after Deepender Singh Hooda was elected to the Lok Sabha from Rohtak. His Rajya Sabha term was due to end on April 9.
Also read: No SYL funds in Haryana budget due to Punjab polls: Cheema
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