Akali Dal to contest Haryana polls with INLD

The Akali Dal has announced that it will contest the October 21 Haryana Assembly elections with its previous alliance partner the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD). The INLD on Wednesday announced its first list of 64 candidates. The list comprised 12 women candidates.

Chandigarh: The Akali Dal, an alliance partner with the BJP in Punjab and New Delhi, has announced that it will contest the October 21 Haryana Assembly elections with its previous alliance partner the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD).

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) will contest the Kalanwali, Ratia and Gulla Cheeka seats in alliance with the INLD, a statement by the party said on Wednesday.

While Rajinder Singh Desujodha is the party candidate from Kalanwali, Kulwinder Singh Kunal will contest from Ratia and Raj Kumar Ravarjagir from Gulla Cheeka.

SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal announced that party patron Parkash Singh Badal and INLD supremo Om Parkash Chautala would accompany two SAD candidates for filing of nomination papers for assembly constituencies of Kalanwali and Ratia on Thursday.

The SAD president said that the remaining seats which will be contested jointly with the INLD will be declared on Thursday.

The INLD on Wednesday announced its first list of 64 candidates. The list comprised 12 women candidates.

Chautala's youngest son Abhay Chautala is seeking re-election from Ellenabad.

OP Chautala and his elder son Ajay Singh are barred from contesting after their sentence of imprisonment in a teachers' recruitment case.

INLD's breakaway faction Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), led by Dushyant Chautala, the son of Ajay Chautala, has already announced 22 candidates.

Dushyant Chautala, the youngest MP in the previous Lok Sabha, parted ways with the INLD in December 2018 after a bitter split in the party and in the Chautala family.

The relation between the state ruling BJP and the SAD were strained when the latter's lone legislator Balkaur Singh switched over to the saffron party.

He is now contesting as the BJP candidate from Kalanwali.

The SAD had extended unconditional support to the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections in the state and its leadership had said that they would contest the Assembly polls in alliance with the BJP.

As per the alliance in 2014 Assembly polls in the state, the INLD contested from 88 out of the 90 seats. The SAD contested the Ambala city and Kalanwali seats.