Political parties in Haryana seem to be following the tradition of pehle aap in announcing the candidates for the Lok Sabha elections. The state goes to polls on May 7 and the Congress and INLD are still waiting for the other to announce the names before revealing their cards.

Looking at the change in the contours and caste configurations of key Lok Sabha constituencies, including Bhiwani-Mahendergarh, Hisar and Faridabad after the delimitation, the parties are sceptical of declaring the candidate without knowing who the competition will be. The Parliamentary elections will set the trend for the Assembly elections next year and both the Congress and INLD do not want to take any chances.

For the Congress, which won nine of the 10 seats, it is a matter of prestige to perform well one more time. On the other hand, the INLD has nothing to lose after failing to secure even one seat in the previous elections. With its alliance with the BJP, the INLD will look to make a comeback this time. While the BJP has announced five candidates, INLD is still to decide which five candidates will it field. The Congress is also making a careful choice for the 10 seats, two of which are reserved.

Another reason for the delay in declaring the candidates by the Congress is the number of aspirants bee-lining for a ticket. Some minister and MLAs are also not leaving any opportunity to contest. A senior Congress leader, however, hinted that they are not in much luck. “ With the Assembly elections next year, the party high command would not want to risk going for bypolls in the state by giving a ticket to a minister or MLA,” he said.

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