BJP fields fresh faces in Gurgaon, Rewari, Kosli

In yet another surprise move, the BJP, on Wednesday, again fielded new faces from the three assembly seats of Gurgaon, Rewari and Kosli. The candidates chosen are

In yet another surprise move, the BJP, on Wednesday, again fielded new faces from the three assembly seats of Gurgaon, Rewari and Kosli. The candidates chosen are Sudhir Singla from Gurgaon, Sunil Yadav Musepur from Rewari and Laxman Singh from Kosli; are considered to be close to Gurgaon MP Rao Inderjit Singh.

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In fact, political observers pointed out that BJP’s choice of candidates in south Haryana was heavily influenced by Singh, who managed to get tickets for his followers despite not getting it for his daughter. Party insiders said that the names for these three constituencies were announced only in the second list, late Wednesday, due to tussle over distribution of tickets for these seats.

REWARI

Rewari candidate Musepur has been a Rao Inderjit Singh loyalist for 20 years and that he has been with the leader since his days in Congress, Insaaf Manch and followed him to the BJP. “I have worked tirelessly for the party since joining it in 2014. I am thankful that it has given me the chance to contest the election,” Musepur said, adding that despite his decades of work he has always preferred to work in the ranks and never aspired for a leadership position.

When asked what his agenda for Rewari was, Musepur— a graduate and Rewari local—said improving infrastructure, education and increasing job opportunities in the constituency were his top priorities.

Musepur will be banking on Singh’s popularity to win the polls as he is likely to face stiff competition from incumbent BJP MLA Randhir Kapriwas who was not fielded again and Congress candidate Chiranjiv Rao, whose father Captain (Retd) Ajay Singh Yadav has won the seat five times.

KOSLI

BJP insiders said that Kosli candidate Lakshman Singh Yadav is also close to the Gurgaon MP and that he was given the ticket after party did not accede to Rao Inderjot Singh’s demand that his daughter be fielded from here. “The Gurgaon MP had been pushing the name of his close confidante Ravi Yadav for this seat, but it was decided to field Lakshman Singh Yadav as he has served as a party president and is also considered as an organization-oriented man,” said a BJP leader on the condition of anonymity. Yadav had switched to the Rao camp in 2014 after Congress denied him a ticket.

Singh will face challenge from former minister Jagdish Yadav, who had joined the party prior to polls and was expecting a ticket. He is now likely to fight as an independent.

GURGAON

Closer home, BJP’s Gurgaon candidate Sudhir Singla is the vice-president of district party unit and has been closely associated with the party organization and the RSS. Singla is a practicing advocate and his father Sita Ram Singla was an MLA from BJP and also a minister. “I have been a BJP worker for long and I will work for the people of Gurgaon to the best of my abilities,” he said after his candidature was announced.

He is likely to face competition from BJP MLA Umesh Agarwal, who said he would field his wife as an independent candidate from the Gurgaon constituency.

Although Singla’s followers said he owed his ticket to the positive performance feedback in internal surveys, BJP insiders admit that the choice was to an extent influenced by the Gurgaon MP.