Sonipat: Congress mayoral candidate Kamal Diwan on Thursday dismissed speculation about his withdrawal from the Sonipat municipal corporation poll, calling it a deliberate misinformation campaign by the BJP. The clarification came later in the evening, after a day of uncertainty during which Diwan remained unavailable amid rumours he might pull out.
Diwan reaffirms candidacy
Addressing a press conference, Diwan said, 'I am very much in the contest and will fight with full strength. The BJP is trying to distract voters as it senses defeat.' Diwan had filed his nomination on Wednesday alongside Congress MP Deepender Hooda. Sonipat remains the political turf of Hooda and his father, former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
Congress candidate reshuffle
The press conference followed a reshuffle of Congress candidates for councillor posts in Sonipat, with tickets of sitting councillors from Wards 18 and 19 revoked. The party is yet to finalise nominees for Wards 4, 7, 8 and 22, while candidates for the remaining wards have been declared. While party sources cited internal differences behind the delay, Diwan downplayed any discord.
Responding to reports of a rift with former MLA Surender Panwar, Diwan said, 'He is like an elder brother. The BJP is spreading false narratives even about our relationships.'
BJP renominates incumbent mayor
Meanwhile, the BJP has re-nominated incumbent mayor Rajiv Jain for the Sonipat civic polls. On Wednesday, BJP doubled down on its strategy for Sonipat, re-nominating incumbent mayor Rajiv Jain, who had defeated Diwan by 35,000 votes in last year's bypoll.
