Haryana polls: 2 Cabinet ministers dropped from BJP 1st list

 Two Cabinet ministers in the Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP government in Haryana -- Vipul Goel and Rao Narbir Singh -- did not figure in the first list of 78 candidates announced on Monday for the Assembly elections in the state owing to internal squabble in the party.

The 90-member Haryana Assembly will go to the polls on October 21 and the results will be declared on October 24.

While Industries and Commerce Minister Goel was at loggerheads with Union Minister Krishan Pal Gurjar, an MP from Faridabad, Public Works Minister Narbir Singh had rivalry with Union Minister and Gurugram MP Rao Inderjit Singh.

The rivalry between Goel and Gurjar is known and there have been several occasions when they got involved in heated arguments publicly, a senior BJP leader told IANS.

Likewise, the rivalry between the two prominent Ahir leaders -- Rao Inderjit Singh and Rao Narbir Singh -- is also known to many.

Inderjit Singh was demanding BJP ticket for his daughter Aarti Rao from either Rewari or Kosli on the ground that former Union Minister Birender Singh got ticket for his son Brijender by remaining a Rajya Sabha member while his wife is a sitting legislator.

In the first list, Birender Singh's wife Prem Lata got re-nomination to contest from Uchana Kalan.

Gurjar too was reportedly seeking to launch his son Devinder Chaudhary, the senior Deputy Mayor of Faridabad, in the the coming elections.

Both the Union Ministers did get tickets for their descendents. However, the only saving grace for both of them is that they managed to get their arch-rivals sidelined in the first list.

The second and the final list of the remaining 12 candidates is likely to be announced in a day or two, a senior BJP leader said.

For the remaining seats, Narbir Singh may be fielded from Kosli but there is little chance for Goel to get nomination this time, the BJP leader quoted above added.

Narbir Singh, 58, is the legislator from Badshahpur, while Goel, 47, is the MLA from Faridabad.

The BJP first list includes nine women and two Muslim candidates, while seven sitting legislators have been dropped.

The last day for filing nomination is October 4. IANS