Lok Sabha elections 2019: INLD banks on this bizman for Gurugram
Hailing from Bajghera village in Gurugram, Rana attended a government school in his village and later went on to study Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from California State University in the United States of America.
Virender Rana, a businessman, has been fielded by the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) from Gurugram Lok Sabha constituency. The 46-year-old is the richest candidate contesting the polls in Haryana.
Hailing from Bajghera village in Gurugram, Rana attended a government school in his village and later went on to study Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from California State University in the United States of America.
He lived in the US for 15 years before returning to India in 2011. Since then, he has been living in Gurugram. Besides running a software company that has offices in the US and India, Rana is an angel investor who provides capital to business startups. He says he has sold his stakes in many companies in the past, including Hindi news channel Janta TV, when asked about his assets worth ₹102 crore.
While announcing Rana’s candidature, INLD leader Abhay Chautala said a businessman could only understand the problems faced by entrepreneurs in Gurugram. Rana maintains his village background and connection to the ground helps him understand the problems of the poor as well.
POLITICAL PLUNGE
Talking to Hindustan Times, Rana said he decided to join politics as he saw political leaders failing Gurugram year after year. He said both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have done nothing for Gurugram and maintained INLD was the only alternative that could save the city.
“It was INLD supremo OP Chautala who had the vision to develop Gurugram like Singapore, but subsequent governments have made it a mess. Today, Gurugram is deprived of basic facilities such as water, power and waste management. It has become a dumping ground and bodies such as MCG and GMDA are of no help. If nothing is done now, the city will not be habitable in the next 10 years,” he said.
CONFIDENT OF WINNING
While INLD is at its lowest phase in Haryana after a split, Rana said he was confident of winning. The newcomer is facing four-time BJP MP Rao Inderjit Singh and Congress stalwart Capt Ajay Yadav.
“That INLD is weak is all propaganda by opponents. Wait and watch on May 23 when it will emerge the strongest party in Haryana,” said Rana. The INLD has never won the Gurugram Lok Sabha constituency. In 2014, its candidate Zakir Hussain had finished a distant second with 28% of total votes.
