Haryana BJP president Mohan Lal Badoli opts out of election race, confirms CM Nayab Singh Saini to contest from Ladwa

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 30

The ruling BJP has decided to field Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini from Ladwa in Kurukshstra district, considered to be a ‘safe seat’, in the upcoming October 1 Assembly election.

However, BJP’s Haryana unit chief Mohan Lal Badoli, a first-time sitting MLA from Rai in Sonepat district, has opted out of the electoral race, saying that he wanted to focus on election management of all 90 seats across the state.

“While Saini will contest from Ladwa, I have decided not to be contest the Assembly poll as it is my responsibility to coordinate Assembly elections as the BJP chief,” Badoli told reporters in New Delhi.

The choice of Ladwa for Saini is considered to be a smart move by the saffron party as he was the MP from Kurukshetra, which comprises Ladwa, during 2019-2024. Besides, Ladwa, which is currently being represented by Congress’ Mewa Singh, has a sizeable Saini population.

A senior BJP leader said Saini was elected as the MLA from Karnal in the byelection held along with Lok Sabha poll on May 25, 2024, to fulfill the “constitutional requirement” of being elected as a member of the Haryana Assembly.

Karnal, which was represented by Manohar Lal Khattar earlier, is primarily a Punjabi-dominated constituency and the Punjabi community was reportedly promised a seat in the 2024 Assembly poll in lieu of the support to Saini during the byelection. The BJP had reportedly “reserved” four constituencies — Karnal, Naraingarh, Ladwa and Radaur — for Saini, the chief ministerial candidate of the BJP in the upcoming Assembly poll.

Interestingly, since his first victory in the Assembly poll from Naraingarh in 2014, Saini has never completed his term in office. While he resigned from the Assembly in 2019 to contest the Lok Sabha poll from Kurukshetra, he quit the Kurukshetra Lok Sabha seat also to take over as CM in place of Khattar in March this year. His term as Karnal MLA will also be shortlived in view of the Assembly poll.

Saini vows to fight from Karnal too

Responding to a query about fighting election from Ladwa during a roadshow in Karnal, Saini vowed to contest from Karnal too. “As the party president, Badoli will have better knowledge about the party candidates.... However, I will contest from Karnal too,” Saini said, giving credence to the reports that he might be fielded from more than one constituency.