The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday announced the names of mayoral candidates for the three municipal elections in Haryana.
Former Sonepat mayor Rajiv Jain has again been fielded from the seat. The party has also given an opportunity to Akshita Saini, daughter of a BJP-RSS leader, Swarn Saini, from the Ambala seat; this will be her first election. From Panchkula, the BJP has announced the name of 71-year-old Sham Lal Bansal, a long-time associate of the Sangh since his youth, as its nominee.
Former minister of state and two-time ex-MLA from Ambala city, Aseem Goel said that Akshita Saini’s family has remained dedicated to the BJP’s ideology since the era of the Jan Sangh. “Her grandfather, late Variyam Singh, contested elections twice from the Thanesar (Kurukshetra) seat on a Jan Sangh ticket. Her father, Swarn Saini, has served as a Mandal general secretary while discharging various responsibilities within the BJP,” he said.
“The fact that the third generation of their family has today been entrusted with this responsibility stands as a testament to their years of unwavering dedication and loyalty to the party,” Goel said. Speaking to the media in Ambala, Akshita Saini thanked the party high command for the opportunity. She will contest against 59-year-old Kulwinder Kaur from the Congress, also a first-timer.
Similarly, Rajiv Jain also thanked chief minister Nayab Singh Saini, Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar and state president Mohanlal Badoli. The 62-year-old Jain is the husband of cabinet minister and two-time MLA Kavita Jain. He will contest against Congress’ Kamal Dewan, who filed his nomination on Wednesday.
{{/usCountry}}Similarly, Rajiv Jain also thanked chief minister Nayab Singh Saini, Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar and state president Mohanlal Badoli. The 62-year-old Jain is the husband of cabinet minister and two-time MLA Kavita Jain. He will contest against Congress’ Kamal Dewan, who filed his nomination on Wednesday.
{{/usCountry}}Both contested against each other in last year’s byelection, when Jain clinched the post. The bypolls were necessitated after the then mayor Nikhil Madaan was elected as a BJP MLA from the seat. On the other hand, the Aam Aadmi Party has announced Satyaveer Singh as its mayoral candidate in Sonepat.
The last date to file nominations is April 25, after which the scrutiny of nominations will take place on April 27, and candidates may withdraw their nominations until 3 pm on April 28. Voting will take place on May 10 with counting and result announcements on May 13.