Lok Sabha polls: Know the Congress candidates

The Congress on Thursday announced candidates for eight of the nine Lok Sabha seats it is contesting in Haryana. However, it has not yet announced its candidate for the Gurugram constituency.

The Congress on Thursday announced candidates for eight of the nine Lok Sabha seats it is contesting in Haryana. However, it has not yet announced its candidate for the Gurugram constituency.

Son of two-time chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Deepender has thrice won from the Rohtak Lok Sabha constituency in 2005, 2009 and 2014. At present, he is a Rajya Sabha MP. He was the youngest parliamentarian when he was elected from the Rohtak parliamentary seat in 2005.

Deepender Singh Hooda (46) Rohtak

Son of two-time chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Deepender has thrice won from the Rohtak Lok Sabha constituency in 2005, 2009 and 2014. At present, he is a Rajya Sabha MP. He was the youngest parliamentarian when he was elected from the Rohtak parliamentary seat in 2005. Deepender lost to BJP’s Arvind Sharma in the 2019 general polls by 7,503 votes. His father Bhupinder Hooda is at present the leader of the Opposition in the Haryana assembly.

Kumari Selja (61) Sirsa (SC)

Former Haryana Congress chief Kumari Selja has represented Sirsa and Ambala reserved constituencies twice each in Lok Sabha. She also remained Rajya Sabha MP from 2014 to 2020.

Selja was Union minister of state (independent charge) for housing and urban poverty alleviation in UPA-1. During UPA -2, Selja was minister of social justice and empowerment. In the 2019 general elections, she was defeated by BJP’s Ratan Lal Kataria from Ambala. She a general secretary in the All India Congress Committee (AICC).

Satpal Brahmachari (59) Sonepat

He is a religious preacher who runs ashrams in Uttarakhand and Haryana. A sworn bachelor, Brahmachari comes from Gangoli village in Safidon of Jind. He unsuccessfully contested 2022 assembly polls from Haridwar in Uttarakhand. He has remained the chairman of the Haridwar municipal body.

Rao Dan Singh (68) Bhiwani-Mahendergarh

A four-time MLA from the Mahendergarh assembly seat, Rao Dan Singh is considered a close associate of former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. An Ahir leader, his name was being pushed by Hooda for the Gurugram and Bhiwani-Mahendergarh parliamentary seats. Dan Singh remained president of LBS College, Jaipur, and general secretary of Haryana Congress. He was among the Congress leaders who planned Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo yatra in Haryana.

Mahender Pratap Singh (78), Faridabad

The veteran Congress leader had won five assembly polls and tasted defeat on four occasions. From 1977 to 2014, he contested nine assembly polls and became cabinet minister in the Haryana government on two occasions – 1991 to 1996 (food and supplies) and 2009-14 (power, industries, revenue, food supplies and technical education). Singh, who is Gujjar, became sarpanch of his village at the age of 21 in 1966 and elected to block samiti in 1972. He also remained CLP leader in Haryana assembly from 1987 to 1991.

Jai Parkash (69) Hisar

A native of Dubbal village in Kaithal, Jai Parkash is a close confidante of former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. He won the Hisar Lok Sabha seats on three occasions, each time from a different party. In 1989, he became MP from Hisar on Janata Dal’s ticket, in 1996 on Haryana Vikas party’s symbol and in 2004 won on a Congress ticket. In 2000, he became MLA from Barwala assembly seat in Hisar on Congress’ ticket and in 2014, he was elected from Kalayat as an Independent after Congress denied him a ticket. In the 2019 assembly polls, he fought as Congress nominee from Kalayat and lost. In 2022, he contested the Adampur bypoll and lost to Bhavya Bishnoi of the BJP. He started his political career under the tutelage of veteran leader Devi Lal, who later appointed him as president of Green Brigade.

Varun Chaudhary (44), Ambala (SC)

A first time MLA, Varun Chaudhary is the son of former minister Phool Chand Mullana. Regarded as one of the promising lawmakers, he is known for making incisive interventions during the assembly proceedings. He narrowly won his debut assembly polls in 2019 by a margin of 1688 votes. He has been picked to contest from the Ambala Lok Sabha seat after Selja shifted back to Sirsa.

Divyanshu Budhiraja (31), Karnal

The youngest candidate in the fray, Budhiraja, the state Youth Congress president is a surprise pick. A Punjabi-Khatri, the former Panjab University student council president will take on two-time chief minister, Manohar Lal Khattar of the BJP. As a student leader and Youth Congress functionary, Budhiraja has been strident in opposing the Khattar government on the issue of unemployment and paper leaks of competitive exams conducted by the Haryana Public Service Commission and Staff Selection Commission. The Congress has fielded him from the Karnal seat ignoring the claims of seasoned leaders like former speaker Kuldeep Sharma.