Gangster’s wife to property dealers: MCG polls draw diverse candidates

Gurgaon: The civic body elections for MCG and MCM have attracted an unusual mix of candidates contesting for mayor and councillor positions. Among them is the wife of a notorious gangster who is contesting for MCM mayor, property dealers and traditional party workers.
The gangster sought a ticket from a prominent party for the MCM mayor position and after he failed to secure a party ticket for his wife, she is now contesting as an independent candidate. Inderjeet Yadav, the wife of Rakesh Hayatpuria, is considered one of the main candidates for the MCM mayor.
Four people are contesting for the MCM mayor position — Sundar Lal Yadav (BJP), Neeraj Yadav, Inderjeet Yadav and Vijay Chouhan. MCM was formed in 2020 and this is the first election of the newly formed civic body with 20 wards and less than 1 lakh registered voters.
Raj Kumar Yadav, a Congress candidate from ward no. 14, is in the property business and has his office in sector 46. Independent candidate from MCM Praveen Mallik is an RWA president.
Other important candidates include Pawan Pahuja, Nitish Kataria, Pramod Yadav, Praveen Lata Yadav, Rama Rani Rathee, Kuldeep Yadav and Rajinder Kumar. Pahuja, who is into liquor business, is contesting on a Congress ticket from ward no. 32.
He is husband of Congress MGC mayor candidate Seema Pahuja. Kataria, son of former minister Sukhbir Kataria, is contesting from ward no. 36 as Congress candidate. BJP functionary Pramod Yadav was denied ticket from the party and he is now contesting as an independent candidate from ward no. 14.
Former BJP councillor Praveen Lata Yadav was denied ticket from ruling party and now she is contesting as an independent candidate from ward no. 15. Rama Rani Rathee, wife of late RS Rathee, is contesting as an independent candidate after being denied ticket from BJP. She is contesting from ward 23. Kuldeep Yadav, close aide of Rao Narbir Singh and outgoing councillor, is contesting as BJP candidate from ward no. 11. Rajinder Kumar, RWA president of Orchid society, is contesting as an independent candidate from ward no. 14.
Meanwhile, Haryana cabinet minister Rao Narbir Singh, while campaigning for BJP candidate Sunder Lal Yadav, warned voters against candidates with criminal backgrounds. "There is a candidate who has several cases against him. If you (voter) elect them, they will end up extorting money from you," Narbir Singh.
Narbir said the work expected by the common people from the govt is mainly related to councillors and the mayor. BJP has given a candidate who is easily accessible to people. "There is a candidate who has a big criminal record and he will come and seek votes from you before voting on March 2. If you elect such people, the lives of common people will become miserable and several illegal activities will start in the region and they will start extorting money from you. If such people get votes, then it will be unfortunate for democracy and the Ahirwal region," said Narbir without naming Rakesh Hayatpuria.
Hayatpuria claimed to have moved away from criminal activities, saying that no cases were filed against him in recent years. There were around 36 criminal cases against him and now around six cases are pending against him.
Rakesh Hayatpuria, talking to TOI, got angry when asked to comment on the statement of Rao Narbir Singh and his criminal background, saying, "Write whatever you want." In the same breath, he levelled allegations against former BJP MLA Satyaprakash Jarawata and BJP mayoral candidate Sunder Lal Yadav, accusing them of "looting" MCM. "Former BJP MLA, along with the BJP mayoral candidate, has looted MCM," Hayatpuria said.