Haryana polls: Cong fields Bhupinder Hooda from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi, Vinesh Phogat from Julana
New Delhi, Sep 6: The Congress on Friday released its first list of 31 candidates for the Haryana Assembly polls, fielding former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi, state unit chief Udai Bhan from Hodal and wrestler Vinesh Phogat from Julana.
The list was released after the Central Election Committee (CEC) of the Congress met here, with 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 Hooda, among others, attending the meeting.
Besides Hooda, Bhan and Phogat, the Congress has fielded Mewa Singh from Ladwa to take on Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini.
The party has also fielded Surender Panwar from Sonipat, Bharat Bhushan Batra from Rohtak, Kuldeep Vats from Badli, Chiranjeev Rao from Revari and Neeraj Sharma from Faridabad NIT.
Earlier, on the possibility of any MP contesting the polls, Babaria said after the CEC meeting, "To date, no MP has been permitted to contest Assembly elections." Asked about Phogat contesting the polls, he said, "I think it has been decided that she will contest from Julana."
The Congress is also engaged in seat-sharing talks with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)for the Haryana polls, with hard bargaining going on from both sides.
However, the prospects of a tie-up appeared bleak on Friday with both sides hardening their stance.
The Congress has been engaged in hectic consultations over the last few days to explore the possibility of an alliance with the AAP for the Haryana polls, even as some of its leaders have expressed reservations over a tie-up with the Arvind Kejriwal-led party.
The sources said the Hooda faction of the grand old party and some other leaders are opposed to a seat-sharing deal with the AAP. According to these leaders, Kejriwal's party does not have much ground in Haryana.
Olympians Phogat and Bajrang Punia, who were at the forefront of the wrestlers' protest against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh last year, entered the political arena on Friday by joining the Congress with a vow of "not being scared or backing off".
Hours after joining the Congress, Punia was appointed the working chairman of the All India Kisan Congress. It seems unlikely now that he would be fielded in the polls.
The 90-member Haryana Assembly is scheduled to go to polls on October 5 and the counting of votes will be undertaken on October 8.
कांग्रेस अध्यक्ष श्री @kharge की अध्यक्षता में आयोजित 'केंद्रीय चुनाव समिति' की बैठक में हरियाणा विधानसभा चुनाव के लिए कांग्रेस उम्मीदवारों की लिस्ट। pic.twitter.com/0GsZyTFDVD
— Congress (@INCIndia) September 6, 2024
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BESCOM to organise EV expo for Secretariat employees in Jan 2025
Bengaluru (PTI): To encourage the adoption of electric vehicles (EV), Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) announced on Friday that a special EV fair will be organised for the Secretariat employees in January 2025.
During a meeting at the BESCOM office, Managing Director Mahantesh Bilagi said, "The fair is being organised following a directive of Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh and will be conducted under the supervision of Energy Minister K J George and Additional Chief Secretary of the Energy Department Gaurav Gupta."
According to him, the event aims to educate attendees about the benefits of environmentally friendly EVs and to encourage the adoption of two-wheeled EVs.
"During the fair, dealer discounts to government employees, particularly those in the Secretariat will also be offered. There will also be opportunities for practical demonstrations of the vehicles at the exhibition site," added Bilagi.
He said the Secretariat employees will also benefit from no down payment and low-interest loans to purchase the EV vehicles.
"EV companies are eager to participate and the sales will extend beyond the exhibition, continuing in the future," the Managing Director said.
The state, particularly Bengaluru, has the highest electric vehicle (EV) users, said Bilagi, adding that to support this, the Energy Department has provided essential infrastructure.
"BESCOM's efforts in promoting EV usage have been recognised with the 'Charge India 2024 Excellence' award. This award is a testament to our commitment to establishing excellent charging facilities. Karnataka has the country's most public electric vehicle charging stations, with a total of 5,765 stations, of which 4,462 are located in the Bengaluru Urban district," said Bilagi.
The Secretariat Employees' Association president Ramesh Sanga and other office-bearers, BESCOM Technical Director H J Ramesh as well as senior officials attended the meeting.
