With INLD being the lone party announcing its candidate for the Kalka Assembly seat on Friday, a number of hopefuls from the Congress and the BJP are trying their luck for the Kalka and the Panchkula seats.

INLD district president Pradeep Chaudhary’s name was announced for the Kalka seat, and the party high-command is soon expected to announce its candidate for Panchkula.

INLD city president Manoj Aggarwal, who is in the fray for the Panchkula constituency said: “A number of candidates are trying for the seat, but the main contenders are Seema Chaudhary and I.”

“From day one, the Congress has been a divided house and it is this factor that will affect the development of Kalka and Panchkula constituencies, he added.”

Within the BJP, eight leaders have expressed their interest to contest the elections from Panchkula. Five forms were received for the BJP ticket from Kalka constituency.

Gyan Chand Gupta, Shyam Lal Bansal and V K Sood are among the major party hopefuls in the fray for the Panchkula seat, while Nardev Sharma and Varinder Rana are among those trying for the Kalka seat.

Shyam Lal Bansal said: “There is a world of difference between the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections. Local issues have a major role to play in the Vidhan Sabha elections and there are a number of issues like power and water crises, increasing crime rate, joblessness which will bring the downfall of the Congress.”

For the Congress, the Chander Mohan episode has left a large number of local leaders in the hope of getting a ticket from either the Panchkula or the Kalka constituencies.

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