BJP candidate Mukesh Sharma to face challenges in Gurgaon constituency

Gurugram, Spe 6 (IANS) In the first list released by Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) for the Haryana Assembly elections, BJP has bet on Brahmin face Mukesh Sharma from the Gurgaon seat.

Sharma, a twelfth pass from open schooling, had earlier in 2009 contested on a BJP ticket from the Badshahpur constituency but was defeated. Sharma had again contested as an independent candidate against the saffron party in 2014 but lost again.

Mukesh Sharma successfully secured the BJP ticket from the Gurgaon constituency, but to ensure his victory, Sharma will have to face tough challenges from candidates of the other parties.

The Congress is brainstorming on their strategy for Gurgaon and may bet on a Punjabi face. If the seat goes to AAP in the Congress-AAP collation, then Vaishya (Baniya) face Umesh Agarwal can give a tough fight to BJP in the election battle.

In Gurugram, the BJP may have tried to please the Brahmin community for the first time by giving a ticket to Mukesh Sharma, but appeasing the party's core support base of Baniya and Punjabi communities can prove to be a big challenge. 

Also, handling the displeasure of Brahmin face G.L. Sharma, who left the BJP on Thursday, and Punjabi faces Yashpal Batra, Seema Pahuja, Gargi Kakkar, Baniya face Naveen Goyal, who is in the race for a ticket in Gurgaon constituency and bringing them on his side is a big challenge for Mukesh Sharma.

However, this time he got the support of Union Minister of State Rao Inderjit Singh who had put in a lot of effort to ensure a BJP ticket for Mukesh Sharma.

Congress also has in mind the large number of Punjabi voters in the Gurgaon seat, can bet on a Punjabi face. Mohit Madan Lal Grover is leading among Punjabi faces for the Congress. 

Congress’ Punjabi face, Dharambir Gaba, had won the MLA election from this seat five times. However, Mohit has reached Congress through many parties, and despite contesting as an independent in the last Assembly elections, he was not active in the constituency.

Grover remained inactive in the Lok Sabha elections, due to which the party is also thinking about other options.

Congress is also considering the name of Raj Babbar, who gave a tough fight to BJP candidate Rao Inderjit Singh in the Lok Sabha elections. However, former Chief Minister Bhupender Hooda will hardly agree on the name of Raj Babbar. It is said that Hooda does not want any new face to be included in the Chief Minister contenders.

The core voters of the BJP are the Baniya communities, but after 10 years BJP has bet on Brahmins, which has also caused resentment in the Vaishya community. If the Congress-AAP alliance happens, then AAP leader Umesh Agarwal can give a tough fight to Mukesh due to his Vaishya face. In 2014, he won from Gurgaon with the highest number of votes on the BJP ticket in the entire state.

Another Baniya face for the BJP ticket was Naveen Goyal. He has been active in the area for five years and is directly connected with the people. However, Goyal, along with his supporters, has also quit the party with immediate effect.

Naveen Goyal will also make inroads into the BJP vote bank and stopping him will be a big challenge for Mukesh Sharma.

--IANS

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