Chandigarh, March 5 BJP's Sanjay Bhatia and Congress' Karamvir Singh Boudh on Thursday filed their nominations here for two Rajya Sabha seats from Haryana that fell vacant following the completion of the terms of BJP members Kiran Choudhry and Ram Chander Jangra.
BJP leader Satish Nandal also filed his nomination as an Independent candidate, making the contest more competitive. With three candidates in the fray for two seats, the election could turn into a closely watched contest.
Accompanying Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and other senior party leaders, former Member of Parliament Bhatia, who is considered close to Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, has long experience in organisational politics and has a background in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
Bhatia has also served as state general secretary of the BJP.
He has been a member of the Standing Committee on Home Affairs, the Joint Committee on Salaries and Allowances of Members of Parliament, and the Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
In an attempt to consolidate its Dalit vote bank, the Congress has fielded Boudh in his maiden electoral contest.
Accompanied by 34 Congress MLAs, including former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Boudh, a resident of Ambala, retired from the state Civil Secretariat as an administrative officer.
After filing his nomination, he thanked the Congress high command.
Meanwhile, Nandal, a resident of Bohar village in Rohtak, reached the Vidhan Sabha around 2 p.m. and filed his nomination. He was accompanied by Independent MLAs Savitri Jindal, Devendra Kadyan and Rajesh Joon.
Before filing his nomination, Nandal told the media that fellow MLAs had suggested that an Independent candidate should also be in the fray, which is why he decided to contest.
Nandal, who hails from the Garhi-Sampla-Kiloi Assembly segment in Rohtak district, is a former Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader and a political rival of Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
He unsuccessfully contested three consecutive Assembly elections from Garhi-Sampla-Kiloi against Hooda -- in 2009 and 2014 as an INLD candidate, and in 2019 as a BJP nominee.
In the 90-member Haryana Assembly, a candidate requires 31 votes to win a Rajya Sabha seat. While the ruling BJP enjoys the support of 48 legislators, including three Independents, the Congress has 37 MLAs.
The contest gained interest following the nomination of Nandal as an Independent candidate. The election will be held on March 16.
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