Congress Finalizes Candidate List for Crucial Haryana Assembly Polls

The Central Election Committee (CEC) of Congress met to finalize candidates for the upcoming Haryana Assembly polls. Congress leaders, including Mallikarjun Kharge and Sonia Gandhi, cleared names for 66 out of 90 seats. Discussions are ongoing for the remaining seats, and potential seat-sharing with AAP is being debated.

The Central Election Committee (CEC) of the Congress convened on Friday to finalize the party's candidates for the upcoming Haryana Assembly elections, with sources indicating that the first nominee list could be released shortly.

In attendance were Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chief Sonia Gandhi, party general secretary K C Vennugopal, and former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, among others. Out of the 90 Assembly seats in Haryana, candidates for 66 have been cleared. The remaining 24 candidates are still under review by a sub-committee led by Deepak Babaria, T S Singhdeo, and Ajay Maken.

Adding to the complexity, Congress is engaged in seat-sharing negotiations with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). While some leaders back this move, others, including the Hooda faction, are against it, arguing that AAP lacks significant influence in Haryana. Meanwhile, wrestlers and Olympians Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia joined Congress, intensifying the political landscape ahead of the October 5 polls and October 8 vote count.

(With inputs from agencies.)