Wednesday dated veteran politician and former Congress member Kiran Choudhry filed her nomination for the Haryana Rajya Sabha bypoll on a BJP ticket. At 69 years of age, Choudhry is making a major political churning after 45 years of dedicated service toward Congress by pledging unstinted support to the policies of BJP.
The BJP, with its overwhelming majority, is set to get the seat unopposed as the flatfeet Congress has refused to field a candidate for the by-election. The seat had fallen vacant when Deepender Singh Hooda was elected to the Lok Sabha from Rohtak in June. The term of the Rajya Sabha seat is till April 9, 2026.
The latest defector from the Congress, Choudhry, filed her nomination papers at the Legislative Assembly in the presence of Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and other leaders, including BJP state in-charge Biplab Kumar Deb and state unit President Mohan Lal Badoli.
Facing the media, Choudhry thanked the BJP for inducting her, citing her family's old association with the party, besides recalling her father-in-law, former Chief Minister Bansi Lal's alliance with the BJP. She also took potshots at her former party—Congress—especially in the case of her daughter Shruti whose ticket was denied in Bhiwani-Mahendragarh constituency.
"Choudhry, who resigned from her Tosham legislative seat on Tuesday, also expressed respect toward Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. In her reason for the move to BJP, she also hailed the visionary leadership and effective governance of the saffron party ".
In 2019, Choudhry was elected an MLA from Tosham on a Congress ticket. Her disillusionment with the way the Congress works, more so the party's functioning under former Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda, had led to her resignation. While the Congress has chosen not to fight, Kiran's defection makes the BJP's position even stronger. The Congress has 28 MLAs, though she has the support of three Independents, adding to 31 MLAs. The BJP has 41 MLAs, with added support from Haryana Lokhit Party's Gopal Kanda and Independent MLA Nayan Pal Rawat, adding up to 43 MLAs for its support. If the Janneyak Janata Party now joins it, then they will count to 45 MLAs.
The Congress has sought Choudhry's disqualification from Speaker Gian Chand Gupta, and JJP is demanding that he disqualify Surjakhera and Sihag. All these matters are pending before him.
The election schedule states that nominations have been called for August 21, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Chandigarh Vidhan Sabha. Scrutiny of nomination papers will be on August 22 and the last date for withdrawal of names is August 27. Polling, if any, shall be on September 3.
Read also | Acharya Pramod Krishnam Questions Rahul Gandhi's Absence from Ayodhya and Kolkata Visits
Read also | BJP Picks Manan Mishra as Rajya Sabha Candidate from Bihar
