HJC fields candidate from Sirsa; BJP to contest from Karnal

Haryana Janhit Congress chief Kuldeep Bishnoi announced that Sushil Indora of his party would be contesting election from Sirsa Lok Sabha seat.

Hisar: Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) chief Kuldeep Bishnoi on Thursday announced that Sushil Indora of his party would be contesting election from Sirsa Lok Sabha seat.

The HJC chief has left it to the BJP to announce candidate for Karnal parliamentary seat. Earlier, former Union minister and Ambala MLA Venod Sharma, who was set to join HJC after he quit Congress on March 5, was to contest from the Karnal seat, but the plan had been put on hold following stiff resistance from a section of BJP leaders who were opposed to his entry either in the saffron party or joining their ally. While Bishnoi, the HJC-BJP alliance candidate, is seeking re-election from Hisar parliamentary constituency, Karnal is the only other seat which the HJC was contesting as the remaining eight seats are being fought by its ally BJP. However, now HJC has fielded Indora from his party to contest polls from Sirsa and the BJP is now tasked with naming of the candidate for Karnal seat. At present, Karnal parliamentary seat is represented by Congress` Arvind Sharma, a Brahmin, who is seeking re-election. Karnal has traditionally been a Brahmin seat. Earlier, Haryana Janhit Congress had announced that Chander Mohan would contest from Karnal, the former deputy chief minister of Haryana withdrew from the contest citing that Brahmins wanted a member of the community to be fielded from the parliamentary seat. Sources said that a section of BJP leaders were opposed to fielding of Mohan from the seat, who has been mired in controversy in the past. Mohan, who had represented Kalka Assembly segment on four occasions, had found himself in thick of controversy a few years back when he had announced embracing Islam as Chand Mohammad to marry a former law officer from Haryana, late Anuradha Bali alias Fiza Mohammed. At that time, he was already married with two children. Before Fiza`s mysterious death in 2012, Mohan had separated from her and returned to his Bishnoi fold as the Bhajan Lal clan and his community had ostracised him. Mohan`s father and former Haryana Chief Minister Bhajan Lal had floated the HJC in December 2007 after severing ties with the Congress. Lok Sabha polls in Haryana are due to be held on April 10. (With PTI inputs)