New Delhi, September 23
The Congress today finalised candidates for all 90 Assembly segments of Haryana. The list is expected to be out tomorrow after the inauspicious period of ‘shraadh’ is over. The last date for filing of nominations for the October 15 elections is September 27.

Congress sources told The Tribune today that Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda would contest from one seat, though he had proposed to contest from two to generate impact in segments along the Grand Trunk Road.

“The matter was discussed in the Congress screening committee for Haryana but didn’t go through the central election committee. It was thought that the move would not benefit the party much as one seat would have to be vacated. Even conventionally, the Congress doesn’t field leaders from two seats in the Assembly polls,” sources said.

Hooda is expected to contest from his current seat Garhi Sampla Kiloi from where his son, Deepender Hooda, mustered a lead of 70,000 votes in the Lok Sabha polls. Deepender was the sole Congress candidate to win the LS polls in the state.

The Tribune has learnt that the Congress has renominated all but around three sitting legislators in Haryana though it had earlier said “incumbency was no guarantee for a ticket”.

Sitting MLAs set to lose their tickets are Zile Ram Sharma from Asandh, who has been chargesheeted for murder and Sharda Rathore, Ballabhgarh MLA, who was recently hobnobbing with the BJP. Seats on which the Congress leadership has sought clarification are Badshahpur represented by Rao Dharampal, who wants his son fielded; Baadli held by Naresh Sharma and Panchkula by DK Bansal.

The list is likely to feature 11 women and five youths with sons of some top leaders. Congress CEC chaired by party president Sonia Gandhi this time decided against fielding two people from one family. So while Chiranjeevi Yadav, the son of Minister Capt Ajay Yadav, who also chairs the Haryana Congress Campaign Committee, has been denied a nomination as his father is contesting, Finance Minister HS Chattha’s son has been given candidature as Chattha won’t contest.

The candidature of former Haryana Congress president Phool Chand Mullana is also said to have been cleared with Mullana declining to fight. Haryana minister Mahendra Pratap wanted a ticket for his son but has been told to fight himself.

All sitting MLAs involved in the CD row have been re-nominated with top leaders concluding that the CD was politically motivated. The CD features some Haryana Congress MLAs on camera demanding money for change of land use.