The Congress has staged a coup of sorts against Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala by fielding Pankaj Malik, son of INLD MP Harinder Malik, from the Baghra Assembly constituency of western Uttar Pradesh for the bypolls.Party sources disclosed that the ticket has been given to the junior Malik after an understanding with Harinder Malik, who has won the Baghra seat thrice. Though he technically remains with the INLD to retain his Rajya Sabha seat, he would work for the victory of his son.Malik spearheaded Chautala’s campaign in western UP when he had struggled to get a foothold in the Jat belt in the run-up to the Assembly polls so that he could overshadow RLD chief Ajit Singh. Though Chautala failed to make any headway, he rewarded Malik with a Rajya Sabha seat from Haryana.Falling in Muzaffarnagar district, Baghra is a personal fiefdom of Ajit Singh. The by-election was caused by the resignation of UP PWD Minister and RLD leader Anuradha Chaudhry following her election to the Lok Sabha from the Kairana constituency.Chaudhry, who had hoped for a post at the Centre, later changed her mind and decided to retain the ministership in the state. She is likely to be the RLD candidate again.
