BJP's glamour challenge in Congress home turf in Haryana

Adampur (IANS): It is BJP's glamour challenge to Congress candidate Kuldeep Bishnoi, the son of a stalwart of Haryana's dusty and defection-ridden politics and three-time Chief Minister - late Bhajan Lal, in this Jat-dominated seat.

The BJP has pitted small screen actress and greenhorn activist Sonali Phogat against sitting legislator Bishnoi of the Congress. In new viral videos, Sonali is seen performing sizzling dance numbers on catchy tunes. She posted it on social media app Tik Tok.

The politics of Adampur, mainly in the assembly polls, is dominated by the Bishnoi family. The constituency is largely located along the Haryana-Rajasthan border.

Bhajan Lal won this seat in 2000 and 2005 and became the Chief Minister of the state. Starting in 1969, when he first won the Adampur seat, Bhajan Lal won the seat eight times. His wife, Jasma Devi, and son Bishnoi won the seat once each in 1987 and 1998.

Bishnoi, whose hotel in a prime business space of Gurgaon worth Rs 150 crore has been attached by the Income Tax department considering it as a 'benami' asset, is the MLA from Adampur, while his wife Renuka Bishnoi represents the Hansi seat in the state Assembly.The couple had won the 2014 Assembly election as the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) candidates. The party was later merged with the Congress in 2016.

Their son, Bhavya Bishnoi, had unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections from the Hisar parliamentary seat as a Congress candidate. This time, Renuka was denied the ticket by the Congress. But Bishnoi's brother and former deputy chief minister Chander Mohan was declared candidate from the Panchkula seat which he earlier represented. Elections to the 90-member Haryana Assembly will be held on October 21 and results will be declared on October 24.