Chandigarh: AICC General Secretary Ajay Maken files his nomination papers for Rajya Sabha elections, in Chandigarh. Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Hooda and Congress MP Deepender Hooda are also seen. (Twitter/@DeependerSHooda) BJP candidate Krishan Lal Panwar and Congress’s Ajay Maken Tuesday filed their nomination papers from Haryana for the biennial Rajya Sabha elections.
While Maken is all set to reach the Upper House of the Parilament riding on BJP numbers in Haryana Vidhan Sabha, the entry of a third candidate — Kartikeya Sharma, the son of former Congress leader Venod Sharma, who filed his nomination as an Independent — has made the task tough for Maken. BJP’s ruling alliance partner JJP, which has 10 MLAs in the House, supported Sharma’s nomination.
Two Rajya Sabha seats from Haryana will fall vacant in August when the terms of media baron Subhash Chandra, elected as an independent with the BJP’s support, and BJP leader Dushyant Gautam, are set to expire.
Both the Congress and the BJP held a show of strength during filing of nominations by their respective nominees, while several JJP legislators accompanied Sharma.
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Panwar, a Dalit leader, reached the nomination centre accompanied by Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Cabinet minister Kanwar Pal and state unit chief O P Dhankar apart from several other MLAs.
A five-time MLA, Panwar, 64, is a former transport and jails minister and had unsuccessfully contested the 2019 Assembly polls.
Congress nominee Maken was accompanied by party’s Haryana in-charge Vivek Bansal, former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, state party chief Udai Bhan and MP Deepender Hooda. Maken is AICC general secretary and a two-time MP. He was a minister in the Manmohan Singh-led government at the Centre and also in the Sheila Dikshit government in Delhi.
Meanwhile, Jannayak Janta Party chief Ajay Singh Chautala Tuesday said his party’s 10 MLAs will support Kartikeya Sharma. “Not it is up to him how he manages the remaining numbers that he requires to reach the Rajya Sabha,” he added.
Sharma, the managing director of ITV Network that runs multiple news channels and newspapers, is the son-in-law of Congress leader and former Haryana Speaker Kuldeep Sharma.
With his entry, the fight for two Rajya Sabha seats is set to become interesting.
The leaders of both BJP and Congress, meanwhile, expressed confidence that their nominees would win.
“We have adequate numbers and party will support Panwar on getting elected to Rajya Sabha,” Khattar told media persons. Hooda said that the Comgress nominee would make it to the Rajya Sabha as the party has enough numbers to support him.
Given its numerical strength in the Vidhan Sabha, the BJP is set to win one seat.
In the 90-member House, the BJP has 40 MLAs, the Congress 31, the JJP 10, while the Indian National Lok Dal and Haryana Lokhit Party have one each. Seven MLAs are Independents.
For the first seat, BJP nominee would require 31 votes to make it to the Rajya Sabha, while for the second seat, the candidate would require 30 votes.
Tuesday was the last day for filling the nomination papers while the last date for the withdrawal of candidature is June 3. Polling for two Rajya Sabha seats will be held on June 10.
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