Ignored minister who called BJP candidate ‘bhoo mafia’ in 2nd list

Gurgaon: In its second list of 21 candidates for the October 5 Haryana elections, the BJP replaced another sitting MLA to Bimla Chaudhary from Pataudi and provided shelter to disgruntled minister Sanjay Singh – who was denied re-election from his Sohna constituency – in Nuh.
Chaudhary, a former MLA from Pataudi (2014-2019), is a supporter of Home Minister and Gurgaon MP Rao Inderjeet Singh. He is replacing the sitting BJP MLA Satyaprakash Jarawata.
After his name was not announced in the first list of candidates last week, Sports Minister Sanjay Singh had publicly termed BJP’s Sohna pick – Tejpal Tanwar – as “bhoo mafia”. Singh had also threatened to file his nomination as an independent candidate.
According to party sources, the BJP, which had to call an emergency meeting after some candidates came out against the party and withdrew last week, had decided to nominate Singh from Nuh to curry favour with him.
The BJP has never won in Nuh, a constituency dominated by Muslim voters who historically support Congress and INLD.
But Singh has experience and knowledge of Nuh. A resident of the district, he contested the assembly seat twice — in 2009 and 2014 — but lost both times. In 2009, he came second to Aftab Ahmad of the Congress, and in 2014, his position was third in the electoral race.
The BJP’s latest list of candidates, released on Tuesday, covers a total of 88 of the 90 seats in the Haryana Assembly. Mahendergarh and Sirsa are the only constituencies where the party’s candidates have not been announced yet. Sources told TOI on Tuesday that senior BJP functionary Ram Bilas Sharma, who is also backed by Rao Inderjit Singh, is eyeing a ticket from Mahendergarh.
With Tuesday’s announcement, the BJP, which is facing opposition after ruling Haryana for a decade, has replaced all its three sitting MLAs from Gurgaon district.
Wrestler and politician Mukesh Sharma has been brought in from Gurgaon to replace incumbent boxer Sudhir Singla. Chaudhary instead of Jarawata from Pataudi, and Tanwar instead of Singh from Sohna.
Badshapur, the fourth and last seat in the Gurgaon Assembly, was won by an independent MLA in the 2019 elections. This time, the BJP has given Rao Narbir Singh a chance to contest here.
While Sanjay Singh is in the fray, two other candidates from Gurgaon have revolted and quit the party. GL Sharma, vice-president of Haryana BJP, has switched to the Congress and Naveen Goel, chief of BJP’s Vyapar Cell, has said he will fight as an independent.