New Delhi: The Congress is trying to recapture the Jat belt of Haryana by fielding its top Jat leaders, including former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda and MLA turned national chief spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala to contest the LS election.
Hooda may contest from Sonepat, a known Jat stronghold, while Kiran Choudhary, leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, may be among other prominent MLAs to take a plunge in the LS poll, party sources said.
They have been told they can return to the Assembly in the election due to be held by the end of this year, but their contest in the LS election will strengthen the party. The Congress also plans to nominate ex-finance minister Ajay Singh Yadav from Gurgaon against Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh, who had defected to the BJP before 2014 poll.
Meanwhile, ex-union minister Kalraj Mishra on Thursday conveyed to the BJP chief he doesn’t want to seek re-election to the LS. In a related development, the BJP released names of 12 candidates of Sikkim and 6 of Arunachal for Assembly poll.
