The Bharatiya Janata Party’s Haryana unit vice-president, Satish Nandal, entered the Rajya Sabha fray from the State as an Independent on Thursday, the last date for filing nominations, adding an element of uncertainty to the poll outcome despite both the BJP and the Congress having the requisite numbers.
The move is being seen as an attempt by the BJP to retain both the Upper House berths falling vacant on April 9 currently held by its leaders Kiran Choudhry and Ram Chander Jangra. Of the five Rajya Sabha seats from the State’s quota, none is held by the Congress.
Mr. Nandal, a resident of Rohtak, had quit the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) in 2019 to join the BJP and unsuccessfully contested the Garhi-Sampla-Kiloi Assembly poll against two-time Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
Accompanied by three independent MLAs, supporting the BJP in the Vidhan Sabha, Mr. Nandal, on his way to file the nomination, said he had the “support of all”. Commenting on his candidature, Mr. Nandal, a Jat, said “politics is an interesting game”.
Earlier, the Congress named Scheduled Caste leader Karamvir Singh Boudh, a retired Civil Secretariat official, as its nominee. Haryana Congress president Rao Narender Singh said the nomination reflected “the liberal and inclusive ideology of the Congress party”.
