Ex-MP Jai Parkash is Cong candidate

Chandigarh: The Congress on Wednesday named three-time MP Jai Parkash as its candidate for the Adampur assembly byelection. The 67-year old, who was a deputy minister in Chandra Shekhar’s central government of 1990-91, is close to former Haryana chief minister and current state leader of opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
Jai Parkash will file his nomination papers on Friday. Hooda said: “We selected him on the basis of popularity surveys in Adampur and becuase he knows the assembly constituency so well. Even otherwise, this is a Congress seat and we will retain it.” Asked about the short time the MP will have for preparation, Hooda said: “The candidate had been touring the constituency for long and already we have named the MLAs who will campaign in Adampur. Some of them have reached there, while some will be there by Friday.”Before joining team Hooda, Jai Parkash was with the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) as a confidant of late former deputy prime minister Devi Lal. He also holds the record of making it to the Lok Sabha from three different parties, besides winning the assembly elections as an independent candidate.