Haryana Diary: Rebel trouble

Ambala: Factionalism and infighting in the Congress has created trouble for party candidates in Ambala City and Ambala Cantonment constituencies. In the Ambala City segment, Congress rebels Himmat Singh and Jasbir Mallour have filed nominations as Independents against party candidate Nirmal Singh. Interestingly, all three leaders belong to the Hooda faction. Things do not seem positive for the Congress in Ambala Cantonment too, Chitra Sarwara has filed the nomination as an Independent candidate, whereas the party has fielded Parvinder Pari, a loyalist of Congress MP Selja.

‘Emotional’ breakdown

Yamunanagar: The last week saw political leaders breaking down into tears on being denied ticket by their respective parties in Yamunanagar district. When Adarsh Pal Singh from the Jagadhri constituency and Brijpal Chhappar from the Sadhaura segment were denied tickets by the Congress, they broke down into tears in front of their supporters. Political analysts say such tactics are usually adopted by those ticket-seekers who later file papers as Independent candidates. Such leaders only want to strike an emotional chord with voters and gain their sympathy by projecting themselves as victims of injustice, say analysts.

Worry for BJP, Congress

Panipat: Two Independent candidates — former MLA Rohita Rewri from Panipat City and Vijay Jain from Panipat Rural — have become a big worry for the BJP as well as the Congress. Both candidates have a BJP background as Rohita Rewri was elected an MLA in 2014 on the BJP ticket and BJP-backed Vijay Jain was elected municipal councillor of Ward 26 in 2018. Both recently joined the Congress with a hope of getting ticket, but they failed to make the cut in the final list. Now, both of them are contesting as Independents, which is likely to dent the vote banks of respective parties.

CLU scam accused candidates under fire

Hisar: Leaders accused of being involved in the change of land use (CLU) scam, including Congress candidates Ramniwas Ghorela (Barwala) and Naresh Selwal (Uklana) and BJP’s Hansi candidate Vinod Bhayana, continue to face criticism. Several activists had urged both the national parties not to give tickets to these leaders. However, all three of them have got the tickets. Joginder Mayyar, a farmer rights activist, said they had formed a 31-member committee and called a meeting on September 20 to chalk out a plan to oppose them.