LS polls: Direct contest between Cong and BJP in Haryana, says Bhupinder Hooda

Chandigarh: Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Friday said it will be a direct fight between the Congress and the BJP on nine Lok Sabha seats in the state.

"All sections of society are supporting the Congress and we have a good set of candidates," he said.

The Congress, which is contesting nine of the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana, on Thursday announced its candidates for eight seats. The grand old party is yet to announce its candidate for the Gurugram seat.

Predicting a direct fight between the Congress and the BJP in the state, Hooda without directly naming the JJP and the INLD dubbed the two parties as "vote katu".

"It is going to be a direct fight between the Congress and the BJP," the 76-year-old ex-two time chief minister said.

The senior Congress leader told PTI that others are 'vote katu' (vote-cutter parties) and the "electorate will reject them".

Hooda had earlier said that Ajay Singh Chautala-led JJP may have snapped ties with the BJP, but both are "hand-in-glove".

Hooda said issues like unemployment, inflation, law and order, and those pertaining to farmers are burning issues today.

Targeting the ruling BJP in Haryana, the Congress leader said they only make tall claims, but have no work to show in any area.

Meanwhile, Haryana Congress president Udai Bhan also predicted a direct fight between his party and the BJP in the state.

"It will be a direct contest between the Congress and the BJP," he said.

Bhan told PTI that senior Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, will campaign in Haryana next month.

When asked what was the thought behind fielding youth leader Divyanshu Budhiraja from Karnal, Bhan said, "He is the president of the youth wing in the state. He has also remained state president of the NSUI. Many of our leaders have come from the youth Congress and NSUI." "He (Budhiraja) has a very good team in the state and the youth have to be given a chance. So, he has a very good opportunity," he added.

Budhiraja will take on former chief minister and BJP leader Manohar Lal Khattar in the Karnal constituency.

The Congress has fielded former Union minister Kumari Selja against BJP candidate Ashok Tanwar in the Sirsa-SC Lok Sabha constituency. Both Selja and Tanwar are former Haryana Congress chiefs.

Among other candidates, the party has fielded Deepender Hooda against Arvind Sharma of the BJP from the Rohtak Lok Sabha seat.

Two sitting MLAs have also found place in the party's list. Varun Choudhary is contesting from the Ambala-SC seat and Rao Dan Singh is in the contest from Bhiwani-Mahendragarh.

The AAP, a constituent of the opposition INDIA bloc, is contesting the Kurukshetra seat and has fielded its state unit chief Sushil Gupta.

The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), which are also fighting on all 10 seats, have already announced their candidates on many seats.

The ruling BJP named its candidates for six Lok Sabha seats in Haryana on March 13, three days before the general elections were announced. The saffron party named its candidates for the remaining four candidates on March 24.

Polling for all 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state will be held in the sixth phase of the elections on May 25.