Why Rahul Gandhi selected a former civil servant as a substitute of a army veteran as his Rajya Sabha candidate in Haryana

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Gurugram: Karanvir Bauddha, the Haryana Rajya Sabha candidate, will not be a reputation that resonates even amongst get together staff within the state.

Mr. Bode has by no means stood for election, by no means led a serious agitation, and by no means held any vital organizational put up within the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee. Nonetheless, the get together excessive command has given the ticket to the Rajya Sabha to Mr Baud and never different aspirants like former state Congress president Uday Bhan, former MLA Jaiveer Valmiki and former MP Ashok Tanwar.

Thursday is the final day to register for candidacy. The BJP has already introduced former MP Sanjay Bhatia as its candidate. If the third candidate doesn’t enter the fray, the 2 seats might be divided between the Bharatiya Janata Celebration and the Congress with out contest.

A 3rd nomination would postpone the election to March 16.


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Rahul’s name

So why Karanveer Bauddha? Merely put, it was Rahul Gandhi’s selection. Parliamentary leaders ThePrint spoke to mentioned that opposition leaders in parliament had personally really helpful Mr Bode’s title, which drove the choice.

Many get together leaders in Haryana, who had been lobbying intensely for themselves and their candidates, discovered themselves with little selection however to go alongside. Celebration leaders advised ThePrint that the Congress has already determined internally that tickets might be given to candidates from Scheduled Caste communities.

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4 folks have been doing the rounds: Bauddha, former state chief minister Uday Bhan, former MLA Jaiveer Valmiki and former MP Ashok Tanwar. In any case, he was a Buddha.

all about buddha

Karanveer Baudu, who hails from Meham Meeting space in Rohtak district, retired as superintendent of Haryana Civil Secretariat in 2023.

He was concerned within the procurement and care capabilities of the Secretariat. Nonetheless, his work historical past has not been with out controversy, together with one time when he was suspended for costs associated to a fireplace at one among his shops.

After his retirement, Mr. Bode formally joined the Nationalist Congress Celebration and is listed as one of many 47 nationwide convenors of the Scheduled Castes part of the All India Congress Committee on the AICC web site.

Three the explanation why it was chosen

Celebration insiders level to 3 elements that made Boud a suitable, if shocking, selection. First, his SC background. The Congress is specializing in fielding Dalit candidates, and Bauddha matches the invoice completely.

Second, he has no sectarian baggage. In contrast to the opposite names in dispute, the board will not be related to the Hooda camp, Selja camp or some other camp or any group or faction within the Haryana Congress. In a nationwide unit always torn aside by inner conflicts, this neutrality was clearly seen as a advantage somewhat than a weak spot. He was thought of a well-rounded and extensively accepted face.

Celebration insiders say the third, and maybe crucial, seems to be associated to the October 2025 IPS Y Puran Kumar suicide case that shook the political and administrative system in Haryana.

Reference to Y. Puran Kumar

Y Puran Kumar, a 2001 batch IPS officer from the Scheduled Caste group who was serving in Haryana, allegedly dedicated suicide by capturing himself at his residence in Chandigarh on October 7, 2025.

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The officer’s spouse, Amneet P. Kumar, herself a 2001 IAS officer, had in her grievance filed with the Chandigarh police claimed that her husband was pushed to such excessive motion by persistent harassment by senior cops, naming then DGP Shatrugjeet Kapur and later Rohtak SP Narinder Bijaluniya. The officer’s ultimate memo additionally held the 2 males accountable.

The incident grew to become a flashpoint, with political leaders against the Bharatiya Janata Celebration rallying behind the household of the IPS officer, who had been refusing autopsy examination and cremation for over every week.

Karanveer Bauddha was a type of who publicly led the motion to hunt justice for Puran Kumar.

Rahul Gandhi visited the police officer’s household in Chandigarh, which put strain on the then Bharatiya Janata Celebration authorities, which finally needed to give in to the household’s calls for for motion towards the appointed police officer.

Bauddha’s function within the agitation and his affiliation with Rahul Gandhi at a time when Gandhi was personally engaged on the problem seems to have left a optimistic impression on the highest ranges of the get together.

One other Congress chief advised ThePrint that he was additionally energetic throughout Deepender Singh Hooda’s Lok Sabha election marketing campaign from Rohtak in Might 2024 and took part within the get together’s program within the October 2024 Haryana Meeting elections, the place he was additionally a candidate on ticket from Murana in Ambala district. The seat finally went to Pooja Chaudhary, spouse of Ambala MP Varun Chaudhary.


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Celebration members and information will not be attention-grabbing.

Haryana Congress leaders are struggling to hide their agitation behind the scenes. “We have been shocked. Sure, he was within the SC wing of the AICC and was additionally energetic within the 2024 elections. As a pacesetter of the SC staff even earlier than his retirement, he used to usually invite Congress leaders to Ambedkar Jayanti capabilities. However there have been much more skilled and deserving candidates. Solely Uday Bhan, who has spent many years within the get together, misplaced to Mr. Hasin.” It’s tough to elucidate this option to the employees on the bottom. ”

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One other senior chief acknowledged the frustration was actual and widespread, however mentioned there was little state management may do. “The excessive command has determined. We are going to abide by it,” he mentioned.

Requested if the Bharatiya Janata Celebration would possibly help an impartial get together and disrupt the arithmetic if it raises objections, a Congress MLA mentioned get together MLAs would comply with the directions of the excessive command regardless.

optical system

Jyoti Mishra, assistant professor of political science at Amity College in Mohali and former analysis fellow on the Middle for the Research of Creating Societies (CSDS), advised ThePrint that for the Congress, this selection carries an implicit political message.

“The get together has stepped up its Dalit outreach and constitutional advocacy, particularly the ‘Sanvidhan Bachao’ marketing campaign, wherein Mr. Bodo is an energetic participant. This additionally displays Rahul Gandhi’s tendency to succeed in out past the established political class when making vital decisions,” Mishra mentioned.

It stays to be seen whether or not Karanvir Bauddha, who has no electoral or legislative expertise, can develop into the function of Rajya Sabha MP. For now, his surprised colleagues within the Haryana Meeting are studying to stay with a selection they by no means noticed coming.

(Edited by Naldeep Singh Dahiya)


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