Kiran Choudhry, who switched from Congress to BJP earlier this year, on Wednesday filed her nomination for the Rajya Sabha bypoll from Haryana and is set to elected unopposed as she is the lone candidate in the fray. No other party has put up their candidate for the bypoll for the seat which was necessitated after Congress' Deepender Singh Hooda was elected to Lok Sabha from Rohtak. His Rajya Sabha term was to end on April 9, 2026.
Some JJP rebel MLAs also extended support to her candidature as she filed her nomination on the last day. Only one candidate has filed nomination for the bypoll on the last day of filing of papers, officials said.
Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, state BJP president Mohan Lal Badoli, several party MLAs, the party's co-incharge for the state Biplab Kumar Deb and some JJP rebels were among those present when Choudhry submitted her nomination papers this morning before the Returning Officer for the bypoll at the Haryana Vidhan Sabha Secretariat.
The BJP named Choudhry as its nominee for the bypoll shortly after she resigned from the Assembly on Tuesday, nearly two months after she switched over from the Congress. She represented the Tosham seat in the Haryana Assembly.
Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda had earlier said his party would not field a candidate for the Rajya Sabha seat as it did not have the numbers. The scrutiny of nomination papers will take place on August 22 while candidates can withdraw their nominations until August 27.
Speaking to reporters after Choudhry filed her nomination, Chief Minister Saini said that apart from BJP MLAs, some legislators from other parties have also extended their support to her candidature. "(JJP rebels) Jogi Ram Sihag, Ram Niwas Surjakhera, Ram Kumar Gautam and Anoop Dhanak, (Independent MLA) Nayan Pal Rawat and (Haryana Lokhit Party chief) Gopal Kanda have given their support letter," he said. In response to a question, Saini said the party was unanimous over Choudhry's candidature for the Rajya Sabha bypoll in Haryana. She has a long experience in politics and has a vision for the state, the chief minister said.
A former Haryana minister, Choudhry (69) joined the BJP along with her daughter Shruti and their supporters in June. In response to a question, Choudhry said she may have spent 45 years in the Congress, but now she is with the BJP and will serve the party until her last breath. The BJP's Rajya Sabha candidate said that she belongs to the family of Chaudhary Bansi Lal, who ran a government in Haryana, in alliance with the BJP in the 1990s. "We have old relations with the BJP and I was impressed with their policies. The BJP works in the state's and nation's interest and it is my fortune to be associated with it," she said.
