Cong.(I) nominates bigwigs for Haryana polls

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, FEB 2. All the Congress(I)'s top leaders in Haryana - former Chief Minister and CWC member Mr. Bhajan Lal, PCC(I) chief, Mr. Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Mr. Inderjit Singh and Mr. Virender Singh - are to contest the Assembly elections. The party announced 87 candidates today, while discussions were still on for the remaining three seats. Nominations for the February 22 polls close tomorrow.

The Congress(I) leadership has cast the Pachmarhi Declaration on one side and nominated several candidates who lost the Lok Sabha elections (including the four top leaders) as the circumstances were deemed to be ``exceptional'' - the Congress(I) did not win a single seat from the State in the general elections. Of the 12 sitting MLAs, 11 have been renominated.

The party's assessment is that it has a fair chance of forming the next Government in the State. Hence the fierce lobbying for seats and long lines of cars with Haryana number plates outside the AICC(I) headquarters in the last few days.

The sons of Mr. Bhajan Lal and Mr. S. S. Surjewala, Mr. Chander Mohan and Mr. Randeep Surjewala (both sitting MLAs), have been given the ticket. So has the steel tycoon, Mr. O. P. Jindal, one of those who contested and lost the Lok Sabha elections.

Mr. Randeep Surjewala will face the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr. Om Parkash Chautala, in Narwana. In Rori, where too Mr. Chautala is contesting, the Congress(I) has pitted his brother, Mr Ranjit Singh, against him. The former PCC(I) president, Mr Dharmpal Singh Mallik has been nominated from Gohana.

Congress(I) sources said that the central election committee had succeeded in maintaining an equitable division of seats between nominees of the four factions in the State unit led by Mr. Bhajan Lal, Mr. Hooda, Mr. Virender Singh and Mr. Inderjit Singh.

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