Haryana assembly elections witnessed several contests where two members of the same family are going up against each other. One of the hottest such contests was on Tosham seat, where BJP's Shruti Choudhry defeated her cousin Anirudh Chaudhry.
BJP's Shruti Choudhry's political career
Shruti Choudhry is the daughter of BJP leader Kiran Choudhry and Bansi Lal's son Surender Singh, while Anirudh Chaudhry is the son of Ranbir Singh Mahendra. Mahendra, a former BCCI president, and Surender Singh were brothers.
Their grandfather Bansi Lal has served as Haryana Chief Minister thrice and also held key Union portfolios like defence and railways in the Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi governments respectively.
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Shruti Choudhry entered politics after her father died in 2005. She was with the Congress from 2005 to 2024 and represented the Bhiwani constituency from 2009 to 2014. In June 2024, she and her mother, Kiran Choudhry, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) due to growing differences with Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
{{/usCountry}}Shruti Choudhry entered politics after her father died in 2005. She was with the Congress from 2005 to 2024 and represented the Bhiwani constituency from 2009 to 2014. In June 2024, she and her mother, Kiran Choudhry, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) due to growing differences with Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
{{/usCountry}}The Tosham Assembly seat was represented by Kiran Choudhry, but she quit as an MLA last month after which the BJP nominated her for the Rajya Sabha by-poll from Haryana, which she won unopposed.
She is confident that her daughter will win the "battle of the cousins" from the family stronghold Tosham in the October 5 elections for the 90-member Haryana assembly.
Choudhry, who also belongs to the Jat community, also accused her former party of spreading falsehoods during the Lok Sabha polls that the BJP would scrap the Constitution and end reservation if it returned to power with an overwhelming majority.
Anirudh Chaudhry – Shruti Choudhry's opponent
Anirudh Chaudhry is the former treasurer of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and grandson of Bansi Lal. He also held several other positions as a sports administrator, including honorary secretary of the Haryana Cricket Association and manager of the Indian team for the ICC T20 World Cup in England in 2009.
Also Read: Haryana polls: Grandchildren vie for Bansi Lal’s legacy in bitter battle for Tosham
During his tenure as BCCI treasurer, Anirudh Chaudhry faced several controversies, including criticism for maintaining three offices, including a 5-star hotel suite, and allegations of resisting the implementation of the Lodha reforms. However, he has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
Tosham assembly constituencies
Tosham constituency is one of the 90 Vidhan Sabha (State Assembly) seats in the northern state of Haryana, which voted on October 5. It is a part of the Bhiwani district and covers the entire Tosham tehsil and part of Bhiwani tehsil.
Tosham constituency is a general seat and not reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward castes (OBCs). The seat has been held by Congress's Kiran Choudhry since 2010
Located at the foothills of the Tosham hill range, which is a part of the Aravalli mountain range, Tosham is also recognized as a Gram Panchayat and was bestowed the title of Adarsh Gaon (Model Village).
As per the data from the 2019 Assembly Elections, the Tosham constituency had an electorate base of 2,09,063.