Updated: September 6, 2024 10:51 PM IST 
Haryana Assembly Elections 2024: The Congress on Friday released its first list of 31 candidates for the Haryana Assembly polls, nominating wrestler-turned-politician Vinesh Phogat from the Julana constituency, and former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi.
| Sl. No. | No & Names of Constituencies | Selected Candidates | |
| 1 | 1 | Kalka | Pradeep Chaudhary |
| 2 | 3 | Naraingarh | Smt. Shalley Chaudhary |
| 3 | 7 | Sadhaura (SC) | Smt. Renu Bala |
| 4 | 10 | Radaur | Bishan Lal Saini |
| 5 | 11 | Ladwa | Mewa Singh |
| 6 | 12 | Shahbad (SC) | Ram Karan |
| 7 | 19 | Nilokheri (SC) | Dharm Pal Gondar |
| 8 | 23 | Assandh | S. Shamsher Singh Gogi |
| 9 | 27 | Samalkha | Dharam Singh Chhoker |
| 10 | 30 | Kharkhauda (SC) | Jaiveer Singh |
| 11 | 31 | Sonipat | Surender Panwar |
| 12 | 32 | Gohana | Jagbir Singh Malik |
| 13 | 33 | Baroda | Induraj Singh Narwal |
| 14 | 34 | Julana | Smt. Vinesh Phogat |
| 15 | 35 | Safidon | Subhash Gangoli |
| 16 | 42 | Kalanwali (SC) | Shishpal Singh |
| 17 | 43 | Dabwali | Amit Sihag |
| 18 | 61 | Garhi Sampla-Kiloi | Bhupinder Singh Hooda |
| 19 | 62 | Rohtak | Bharat Bhushan Batra |
| 20 | 63 | Kalanaur (SC) | Smt. Shakuntla Khatak |
| 21 | 64 | Bahadurgarh | Rajinder Singh Joon |
| 22 | 65 | Badli | Kuldeep Vats |
| 23 | 66 | Jhajjar (SC) | Smt. Geeta Bhukkal |
| 24 | 67 | Beri | Dr. Raghuvir Singh Kadian |
| 25 | 69 | Mahendragarh | Rao Dan Singh |
| 26 | 74 | Rewari | Chiranjeev Rao |
| 27 | 79 | Nuh | Aftab Ahmed |
| 28 | 80 | Ferozepur Jhirka | Mamman Khan |
| 29 | 81 | Punahana | Mohd. Ilyas |
| 30 | 83 | Hodal (SC) | Udai Bhan |
| 31 | 86 | Faridabad NIT | Neeraj Sharma |
The Congress list was finalised at a meeting of the party’s Central Election Committee (CEC) which was held in New Delhi on Friday to finalise the candidates for the upcoming Haryana Assembly polls.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chief Sonia Gandhi, party general secretary in-charge organisation K C Venugopal, All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of Haryana Deepak Babaria and former chief minister of the state Bhupinder Singh Hooda, among others, attended the meeting.
On the possibility of any MP contesting the polls, Babaria said after the meeting, “To date, no MP has been permitted to contest Assembly elections.”
Star wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, who were at the forefront of last year’s wrestlers’ protest against then WFI chief and former BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, joined the Congress on Friday. Hours after the two joined the grand-old party, there was no clarity whether Punia would contest the Haryana Assembly polls, but party leaders announced that Phogat would be nominated from the Julana seat.
Later in the day, the Congress appointed Bajrang Punia as the working chairman of All India Kisan Congress, the party’s farmers’ wing.
Earlier on Friday, Phogat and Punia met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge at his residence and later joined the party at the AICC headquarters in the presence of Congress general secretary in-charge organisation KC Venugopal, AICC general secretary in-charge Haryana Deepak Babaria, Haryana Congress chief Uday Bhan and the party’s media and publicity department head Pawan Khera.
At the press conference during which they joined the party, Venugopal claimed that Phogat received a showcause notice from the Railways after she met Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday. Party sources said the notice talked about violating service rules by meeting the political leaders.
Venugopal asked if it was a crime to meet the leader of the opposition and urged the Railway authorities to relieve Phogat and not “play politics”.
Without elaborating, Venugopal claimed that Punia had also got a notice.
Phogat on Friday resigned from the Indian Railways, citing personal reasons.
After joining the party, Phogat said the BJP was supporting Singh while the Congress supported the protesting wrestlers when they “were being dragged on the roads” in Delhi.
Punia and Phogat were part of the protest over sexual harassment allegations against former BJP MP and then Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Singh in 2023.
“I thank the people of the country and the media, you supported me throughout my wrestling journey. I thank the Congress party, it is said tough times tell you about who is with you. When we were dragged on the roads, all parties except the BJP stood with us and understood our pain and tears,” the 30-year-old said at the press conference.
She said she felt proud that she was with a party and an ideology that stood against injustice on women and was ready to fight the battle from the streets to Parliament.
(With PTI inputs)
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