Withdrawals Shake Up Haryana Assembly Race As Major Parties Rally Rebels

Several BJP and Congress leaders in Haryana have withdrawn their nominations after being denied party tickets, reducing the candidate list for the October 5 assembly elections to 1,031. Senior party leaders, including Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, have been actively persuading these rebels to step down, impacting the race dynamics.

Several BJP and Congress leaders in Haryana, who had entered the election race after being denied party tickets, have withdrawn their nominations ahead of the October 5 polls.

Following the deadline for nomination withdrawals on Monday, 1,031 candidates remain in the fray across 90 assembly seats. Initially, 1,559 candidates had filed nominations, but subsequent scrutiny left 1,221 nominations valid. Out of these, 190 candidates have withdrawn, leaving 1,031 contestants.

Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has been instrumental in convincing several BJP rebels to withdraw, including Rajiv Jain, who withdrew from Sonipat after Saini's intervention. Similarly, former Deputy Assembly Speaker Santosh Yadav also withdrew from the Ateli constituency. Meanwhile, prominent Congress leaders like Sampat Singh and Ram Kishen 'Fauji' have stepped down from the Nalwa and Bawani Khera seats, respectively. Voting will take place on October 5, with results declared on October 8.

(With inputs from agencies.)