BJP parliamentary board decides who contests from where, says Haryana CM Saini

Chandigarh: A day after Haryana BJP president Mohan Lal Badoli floated his name as candidate from Ladwa for the upcoming Haryana Assembly polls, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Saturday said it is the BJP's "parliamentary board" which decides who contests from where.

"I am the MLA from Karnal...BJP parliamentary board will decide from where I have to contest. No one, no matter how big, can claim he will fight from a particular seat. I am a chief minister, even I cannot claim from where I will fight," Saini told reporters here.

The CM made the remark responding to reporters' query on Badoli's Friday announcement.

On Friday, Saini during his roadshow in Karnal was asked by reporters who the party's candidate from Karnal would be, to which he responded, "I will contest the election from Karnal also, why are you worried?"

Asked if he would file nominations from two seats, Saini evaded a direct reply. "I will fight the election from Karnal," he said.

Earlier on Friday, Badoli, when asked by reporters from where the chief minister would contest the elections, had said, "The CM will contest from Ladwa." Meanwhile, Saini again hit out at Congress's 'Haryana Maange Hisab' campaign and accused it of spreading lies.

He also said he had asked ten questions to Congress on various issues, but did not receive their answers.

Congress made "tall promises" to the people of Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh, but "deceived" them once they came to power. "Lie is in their DNA," the CM said.

He also asked the Congress to tell how many promises it fulfilled between 2005 and 2014 when the party was in power. "We have fulfilled our promises 100 per cent," he claimed in the next breath.

He alleged that there was a "full stop" on development in Haryana during the Congress rule, whereas the BJP in the past ten years has worked "non-stop".

Saini said things have come to such pass for Congress that there are no takers for its election tickets.

He also made a mention of the Election Commission recently barring authorities in the state from announcing the results of ongoing recruitment for police constables and teachers till the election was over.

The commission gave the order taking note of a complaint by Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh.

"Haryana Staff Selection Commission has prepared results for 24,000 jobs. If the Congress party 'Bharti roko gang' and Jairam Ramesh withdraw their application from the Election Commission then we will immediately start recruitment," he said.

Saini also cautioned the people of Jammu and Kashmir, which is also going to polls, against the NC-Congress alliance.

He asked Congress leaders, including former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Hooda, to clear their stand on the reinstatement of Article 370, as being proposed by ally National Conference.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission on Saturday deferred the Haryana assembly poll date to October 5 from October 1, saying the decision was taken keeping in mind a centuries-old festival of the Bishnoi community.

The counting of votes for Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana assembly polls will now be held on October 8 instead of October 4, the poll body said.