With the deadline for nominations for Haryana’s 90-member assembly fast approaching on September 12, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has announced its first slate of 20 candidates. This move comes amid ongoing but stalled discussions with the Congress party regarding a potential pre-poll alliance.
Among the AAP’s candidates are Anurag Dhanda, who will contest from Kalayat, and Indu Sharma, running from Bhiwani. Vikas Nehra has been chosen for Meham, while Bijender Hooda will represent the party in Rohtak.
Here is the full list of AAP candidates for Haryana:
- Naraingarh – Gurpal Singh
- Kalayat – Anurag Dhanda
- Pundri – Narender Sharma
- Gharaunda – Jaipal Sharma
- Assandh – Amandeep Jundla
- Samalkha – Bittu Pahalwan
- Uchana Kalan – Pawan Fauji
- Dabwali – Kuldeep Gadrana
- Rania – Happy Rania
- Bhiwani – Indu Sharma
- Meham – Vikas Nehra
- Rohtak – Bijender Hooda
- Bahadurgarh – Kuldeep Chikara
- Badli – Ranbir Guliya
- Beri – Sonu Ahlawat Sheria
- Mahendragarh – Manish Yadav
- Narnaul – Ravinder Matru
- Badshahpur – Bir Singh Sarpanch
- Sohna – Dharmender Khatana
- Ballabgarh – Ravinder Faujdar
Discussions between the Congress and AAP about a potential alliance have encountered hurdles, particularly over the distribution of seats. Reports indicate that AAP is requesting 10 seats, while Congress is offering only five.
AAP’s state chief, Sushil Gupta, indicated earlier that if an agreement is not reached by the evening, the party will proceed with finalizing candidates for all 90 seats. Raghav Chadha, AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP leading the negotiations, has assured that a decision will be made before the September 12 nomination deadline, emphasizing that if a mutually beneficial arrangement is not achievable, the talks will be abandoned.
AAP’s senior leader, Sanjay Singh, reiterated the party’s readiness to move forward with its candidates. He stated that the candidate selection process is complete and that the party is prepared to proceed with or without an alliance.
The election for Haryana’s legislative assembly is scheduled for October 5, with vote counting set for October 8.
