Chandigarh: Four-time legislator and Congress rebel, Kiran Choudhry, 69, on Wednesday, filed her nomination for the bypoll to the lone Rajya Sabha seat in Haryana as a BJP nominee. She said she had given 45 years to the Congress and now “till her last breath would advocate for the policies of the BJP”.
The BJP is set to win the seat unopposed as the main opposition Congress has declared that it will not be fielding a candidate. The bypoll was necessitated after Congress leader Deepender Singh Hooda was elected to the Lok Sabha from Rohtak in June. The term of this seat ends on April 9, 2026.
Accompanying Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, party in-charge for the state, Biplab Kumar Deb, and state unit President Mohan Lal Badoli, former Minister Kiran Choudhry, filed her nomination papers in the Legislative Assembly here.
She switched sides two months ago after resigning from the Congress. Talking to the media after filing the papers, she said, “It’s my luck that I got the opportunity to join the BJP to serve the country and my state. Our family has old ties with the BJP. Chaudhary Bansi Lal formed the government in the state with the BJP,” she said. Kiran Choudhry is the daughter-in-law of former Chief Minister Bansi Lal, who is known as the ‘architect’ of modern-day Haryana. She was upset with the Congress as her daughter Shruti was denied a ticket to contest the last Lok Sabha polls from Bhiwani-Mahendragarh. She’s the wife of the late Surender Singh.
On Tuesday Kiran Choudhry resigned as the legislator from the Tosham seat. Kiran Choudhry, who often described former Chief Minister and Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar as her “bade bhai” (elder brother), thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Saini and Khattar for giving her the opportunity to serve the party. “Influenced by policies of PM Modi and former (Haryana) CM Manohar Lal, I have joined the BJP.” “The BJP works with a vision and has a strong leadership,” she added, taking multiple swipes at the Congress.