Amid rumblings in BJP in Haryana, internal rift over candidate list mars Congress

New Delhi: Amid internal fissures in the BJP’s Haryana unit over ticket distribution, the Congress has also been marred by the rumblings after the release of its first candidate list for the upcoming polls in the state. The internal bickering within the Congress came out in open after a senior leader’s resignation.

Senior Congress leader Rajesh Joon has resigned from the party after being denied ticket for the Haryana polls. He has announced to contest the polls as an Independent from Bahadurgarh seat. The party has fielded sitting MLA Rajinder Singh Joon from the seat. “The Congress leadership cheated me. I was promised a ticket but the promise was not kept,” the disgruntled leader said. Another party leader has also threatened to quit and said he will take the final decision on Sunday.

Rift in Congress after candidate list released

The Congress released its first list of 31 candidate for the state polls on Friday, fielding former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi and new entrant and wrestler Vinesh Phogat from Julana seats. After the release of the list, some party leaders expressed resentment over not being given ticket or retained.

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Emboldened by its electoral performance in Lok Sabha polls in the state where it won 5 out of 10 seats, the Congress is hoping that the internal rift will not cast shadow on its aim of unseating the BJP from the Hindi heartland state it has been in power since 2014. The rumblings in the BJP has also given fillip to the Congress party.

AAP-Congress alliance feud

Besides the internal rift, the Congress party is also dealing with the hectic seat-sharing negotiations with the AAP that seems to be hitting a roadblock. The tie-up talks between the two parties has hit an impasse with the Congress offering only five to seven seats while the AAP seeking 10.

AAP national general secretary (Organisation) Sandeep Pathak on Saturday said that his party was fully prepared to contest all 90 seats in Haryana and added that they will release the candidate list soon after getting nod from the party leadership. He also said that whoever underestimates the AAP will regret it in the future, in an apparent attack at the Congress.