Rebellion, tears in Haryana Cong over denial of tickets

Rebellion grew in the Congress in Haryana after the party leadership cleared candidates for 89 seats, leaving one seat for the CPI(M), in the House of 90 with at least 12 leaders quitting the party one after another in the last couple of days, citing the party’s indifference towards them despite their dedication.

Congress MLA Lalit Nagar, who represented the Tigaon seat, was in tears after the party denied him a ticket on Thursday and quit the party forthwith.

Nagar was replaced with Lalit Nagar, son of senior leader Yashpal Nagar. The change of nomination at the last minute upset Lalit Nagar, who convened a meeting with his supporters where he announced his decision to contest as an Independent candidate.

He told his supporters that he was hoping to get a ticket but “some conspirators stabbed me in the back”.

In the 2014 elections, Lalit Nagar won the Tigaon seat by defeating the BJP's Rajesh Nagar. However, in the 2019 elections, Rajesh Nagar defeated Lalit Nagar.

“Had my party nominated a strong candidate, I would have understood. But they have given the ticket to such a candidate whom people don't even know,” the former legislator added.

Former Panchkula Mayor and leader Upinder Kaur Ahluwalia, Sharda Rathore and Jitender Kumar Bhardwaj are among the ticket hopefuls who expressed resentment over the party’s decision.

Rathore, a former MLA and ticket hopeful from Ballabhgarh, burst into tears in front of supporters on Thursday after she was denied a ticket by the Congress.

Her supporters said she had been “betrayed” by the party.

Joining the race of rebels, party leader Jitender Kumar Bhardwaj, who was denied nomination from Sohna in Gurugram, wrote in a social media post, “Sorry friends, today, service, dedication and devotion have lost.”

The Congress nominated Rohtash Khatana, who was previously associated with the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP).

Former minister Chaudhary Nirmal Singh’s daughter Chitra Sarwara left the Congress after she was denied a ticket from Ambala Cantonment. The party has fielded Parimal Pari from this seat.

So did Rohita Revari, a former legislator from Panipat city, who resigned from the party after being denied a ticket.

Justifying the decision of the leadership on ticket allocation, All India Congress General Secretary Kumari Selja on Thursday said when the tickets are distributed, “someone supports one person and someone supports another person.”

Responding to a media query about the extent of factionalism prevalent in ticket distribution, she said, “There are many claimants, but the high command selects the name of one person. The person selected by the high command is the party's candidate, everyone's candidate and is of everyone’s liking and every party activist works to ensure his/her victory.”

Voting for the 90 Assembly seats in Haryana will be held on October 5 and ballots will be counted on October 8.