Congress releases list of 40 campaigners for the upcoming elections

The Indian National Congress (INC) has announced a list of 40 campaigners for the upcoming elections in Haryana. The list included most of the senior party workers and also included Ashok Tanwar, who has been dropped from the list of candidates contesting the polls

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Tanwar had been dropped from the list of candidates after he publicly criticised interim Congress President Sonia Gandhi for giving away his seat to another member. Tanwar and his supporters also staged a protest outside the residence of Sonia Gandhi. He accused the senior leaders of giving away the seat for a price of Rs 5 crores. 

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Big names included

The list released by the party also includes Ashok Gehlot, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Sachin Pilot, but excluded Navjot Singh Sidhu who has previously always been on the list. A few months ago, Sidhu was criticised for hugging Pakistan's Army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa during his visit to Pakistan. Later, in a cabinet reshuffle, he was divested of important portfolios. Sidhu then wrote a resignation letter and addressed it to the Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh as well as Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi. It was later accepted by the CM.

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The list also includes the names of Anand Sharma, Salman Khurshid, Kumari Selja, Ajay Singh Yadav, Kiran Chaudhary, Randeep Singh Surjewala, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Kuldeep Bishnoi, Rajiv Shukla, Rajiv Babbar, Sunil Jakhar, Pawan Khera, Mukesh Agnihotri, Raj Babbar and Rajeev Shukla among others. Chief ministers from other Congress-ruled states such as Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan will also seek votes for the party.

Upcoming elections

The Election Commission announced that the elections in Harayana and Maharashtra will take place on Monday, October 21 with the counting to take place on Thursday, October 24. The last date of filing nomination was October 4 and the INC has finalized the list of the candidates who will contest the elections. 

The INC's rival, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is currently ruling in both the states and the former is hoping to fight India's dominant party amidst serious and embarrassing infighting amongst the leaders of the parties in both states.

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