INLD Haryana president Majra to contest from Kalayat as party names seven more candidates

The INLD has fielded Sheela Rathi from Bahadurgarh. She is the wife of Nafe Singh Rathi, the then state president of the INLD who was shot dead by armed assailants in Bahadurgarh in Jhajjar district in February.

Chandigarh: Indian National Lok Dal's Haryana unit president Rampal Majra will contest the October 5 assembly polls from Kalayat in Kaithal district as former chief minister Om Prakash Chautala led party on Sunday announced the names of seven more candidates. The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) is contesting the polls in an alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which had recently announced four candidates in its first list for the polls.

The INLD has fielded Sheela Rathi from Bahadurgarh. She is the wife of Nafe Singh Rathi, the then state president of the INLD who was shot dead by armed assailants in Bahadurgarh in Jhajjar district in February. As per the party list, senior INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala's son Arjun Singh Chautala will contest from Rania in Sirsa district, former MLA Sher Singh Barshami will fight from Ladwa, Umed Lohan will contest from Narnaund, Taiyab Hussain Bhimsika from Hathin and Master Gurtej Singh Sukhchain from Kalanwali (SC) seat.

According to the INLD, the names of the candidates were approved by party supremo Om Prakash Chautala. Earlier, the INLD had said that senior party leader Abhay Singh Chautala would seek re-election from Ellenabad seat while it had also named the candidates for Yamunanagar and Mahendragarh. On July 11, the INLD joined hands with its former ally BSP for the state assembly polls.

The alliance leaders have decided to project INLD leader Abhay Chautala as its chief ministerial face. Under the arrangement, out of 90 assembly seats in Haryana, the BSP will contest on 37 seats, leaving the rest for its senior partner in Haryana, where the ruling BJP is eyeing to come to power for the third time in a row.

After the two parties re-entered a tie-up, Abhay Chautala had said that Chaudhary Devi Lal and BSP founder late Kanshi Ram worked to bring a big change in this country. The BSP and INLD's thinking is how the poor will get justice and how weaker sections will get empowered, he said.

In February 2019, the BSP had called off its nearly nine-month-old alliance with the INLD, which was then Haryana's main opposition outfit. The development had come amid a feud in the Chautala family. The INLD has been out of power in Haryana for the last 20 years.