Congress Clears 34 Candidates for Haryana Polls, Suspense Continues for Remaining Seats

In a significant development, the Congress Central Election Committee has cleared 34 candidates for the Haryana Assembly polls, including 22 sitting MLAs. However, suspense continues over the remaining seats, with the party yet to decide on six MLAs. Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda will contest from Garhi-Sampla Kiloi, while Deputy Congress Legislative Party leader Aftab Ahmed will contest from Nuh. Chief Whip BB Batra will contest from Rohtak.

The committee, which met in New Delhi on Monday, discussed candidates for 49 seats and cleared 34 names. The decision on 15 candidates was kept pending and will be further deliberated upon. The committee will meet again on Tuesday to discuss the remaining 41 seats, and the final list of candidates is expected to be released by September 4. 

There is doubt over the candidature of Sonepat MLA Surender Panwar, who is still in jail in an Enforcement Directorate case regarding illegal mining. Similarly, Samalkha MLA Dharam Singh Chokker is facing an ED case and his candidature is uncertain. AAP is demanding more seats than offered, adding complexity to the alliance talks. The party's position on wrestler Vinesh Phogat, who was rumored to contest the elections, will be made clear on Tuesday.

The Congress Central Election Committee will meet again on Tuesday to discuss the remaining 41 seats. The final list of candidates is expected to be released by September 4, just a day before the filing of nominations begins in Haryana. 

The meeting was attended by key leaders, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and state party president Udai Bhan were also present.

"The screening committee presented the names of candidates for 49 seats, and 34 out of them were cleared. The decision on 15 candidates was kept pending, and their names would be further deliberated upon," said Haryana state in-charge Deepak Babaria. He added, "The names of the remaining 41 candidates will be discussed tomorrow. I hope by September 4, our final list will be out."  

The Congress party is keen to finalize its list of candidates soon, as the filing of nominations will start on September 5, and the last date for filling papers is September 12.

The Haryana Story will provide updates on the developments as the final list of candidates is expected to be released soon.