Kiran Choudhary named BJP candidate for Rajya Sabha polls

In a calculated move, the BJP has nominated 69-yearold Kiran Choudhary, a former Congress heavyweight, as its candidate for Haryana’s lone Rajya Sabha seat by-election slated for September 3.

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The decision was announced by party leader Kanwar Pal Gujjar after the BJP Legislative Party meeting. The central election committee of the BJP cleared her name just a day before the nomination deadline. Kiran will be filing her nomination papers at 10 am on Wednesday.

Hours before the announcement of her candidature Kiran, who represented the Tosham constituency in Haryana’s Bhiwani district, submitted her resignation to Haryana Vidhan Sabha Speaker Gian Chand Gupta and the latter promptly accepted it. This resignation has now left the 58-Tosham Assembly constituency seat vacant, with the Haryana Assembly Secretariat issuing an official notification confirming the vacancy as of August 20.

Kiran’s nomination is widely viewed as the BJP’s attempt to secure the influential Jat community’s support in the state, particularly in the Bhiwani region, as the assembly elections loom just 28 days after the Rajya Sabha vote.