Faridabad: Hours before nominee to file papers, Congress wakes up to ED ‘taint’

Nagar has been replaced with former Congress MP and BJP rebel Avtar Singh Bhadana. The Congress list on Sunday evening came after much delay, speculation and controversy.

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Nagar’s brother Mahesh Nagar is a close associate of Robert Vadra, the husband of Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. With the Enforcement Directorate probing Mahesh’s role in a Bikaner land scam, it was felt by the party — rather belatedly — that a ticket to him might be embarrassing.

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Bhadana, on the other hand, is a three-time Faridabad Congress MP (1991, 2004, 2009), who has also been in the INLD and Lok Dal. Having won the Mirapur Assembly seat in Uttar Pradesh on a BJP ticket in 2017, he re-joined the Congress in February this year.

Party sources claim Bhadana’s name was pushed by none other than Priyanka.

Nagar called the denial of ticket a “conspiracy” against him and the Congress. “My name was cleared on April 13. After nine days, my ticket was cut. In these nine days, I fought half the election. I campaigned in all the Vidhan Sabha constituencies under Faridabad, I created offices there. I believe the cancellation is a result of some pressure.”

Noting that he had won in the 2014 Haryana Assembly elections defying a Modi wave — Nagar had won from Tigaon, the only Congress leader to win in the six Assembly segments of Faridabad district — he questioned the Congress giving ticket to a man who had been with the BJP till recently.

Nagar added that he had not spoken with the party high command over the change. “The party will realise what it did,” he said.

Palwal MLA Karan Singh Dalala, a prominent Jat leader, also wanted the Congress ticket from Faridabad. However, on Monday he told The Indian Express he was “okay” with the party’s choice of Bhadana.

Among the other three names announced by the Congress on Sunday was Hooda, a four-time party MP from Rohtak, from Sonipat. His son Deepender Hooda has got the ticket from Rohtak. From Hisar, Bhajan Lal’s grandson Bhavya Bishnoi, 26, will be making his debut. Ex-Haryana Speaker Kuldeep Sharma is the nominee from Karnal, and Hooda Sr confidant Nirmal Singh from Kurukshetra.