Testing political waters in Haryana for the first time, the AAP Thursday announced its five candidates for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections from the state.The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) earlier announced senior leader Yogendra Yadav's name for the Gurgaon Lok Sabha constituency.Haryana has 10 Lok Sabha seats and the ruling Congress won nine of these in the 2009 general elections. The Hisar seat is held by Haryana Janhit Congress leader Kuldeep Bishnoi, son of former chief minister Bhajan Lal. The AAP Thursday announced that former bureaucrat Y.S. Khyalia would contest from the Hisar constituency against Bishnoi. Khyalia, a senior Indian Administrative Service officer, was pisional commissioner of Hisar and recently resigned from his job and joined the AAP.
For the Rohtak Lok Sabha constituency, the AAP has fielded senior Haryana leader Naveen Jaihind. The seat is currently held by Congress MP Deepinder Hooda, son of Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.The AAP launched its national campaign for the Lok Sabha elections to be held in April/May from Rohtak town, 70 km from Delhi, on Sunday.The AAP has fielded farmer-activist Balwinder Kaur from the Kurukshetra Lok Sabha constituency. This seat is at present held by millionaire industrialist and Congress leader Naveen Jindal.For the Sirsa Lok Sabha seat, the AAP has fielded social activist Poonam Chand Ratti. The seat is held at present by Congress MP Ashok Tanwar, a former Indian Youth Congress president (2005-10). Tanwar was appointed Haryana Congress president earlier this month. Lawyer Jaisingh Thekedar will be the AAP candidate for the Sonipat seat.After the party's recent showing at the Delhi assembly elections, AAP leaders said it would focus on Haryana for the Lok Sabha elections and the Haryana assembly polls to be held October this year.