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Harbhajan Singh Likely To Be Named For Rajya Sabha From Punjab By AAP: Sources

Chandigarh: Former cricketer Harbhajan Singh may be nominated to Rajya Sabha from Punjab by the new Aam Aadmi Party government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, media sources have said.

The former off-spinner may be given charge of a new sports university in Jalandhar, which Mr Mann had promised to set up during the campaign for the elections held last month. The new Chief Minister has promised to make promoting sports a priority.

โ€œThe top leadership of AAP, including the new Chief Minister, has approached Harbhajan Singh with an offer to become their nominated candidate for next Rajya Sabha term. The new Chief Minister wants Harbhajan to work for lifting the standards of sports in the state, which has gone down considerably in past few years,โ€ news agency PTI reported quoting an unnamed person who is close to the former cricketer.

If he becomes a Rajya Sabha member, Mr Singh, 41, will enter a list of former sportspersons who have served as MPs, such as Sachin Tendulkar.

The AAP, which has its roots in Delhi, decimated the ruling Congress to form government in a full-fledged state for the first time. AAP in Delhi under Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal doesnโ€™t have all the powers that a Chief Minister in a full state has since Delhi is a Union Territory. The new AAP government in Punjab, however, will have the police department under its command.

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After Congress โ€˜Rebelโ€™ Meet, Bhupinder Hooda Meets Rahul Gandhi

Ashmita Chhabria

New Delhi: Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today. In the meet Bhupinder explained the current situation at Haryana to Rahul Gandhi and had a discussion about how the party should be strengthened in the state, sources said.

A group of 18 Congress leaders โ€” a mix of G-23 dissidents and some โ€˜newcomersโ€™ โ€” spoke in favour of a โ€œcollective, inclusive leadershipโ€ after a meeting at the house of senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad yesterday.

From the group Bhupinder is the first leader to visit Rahul Gandhi.

NDTVโ€™s sources said that Rahul Gandhi agreed with the suggestions that had been put forward at the G-23 meet. 

Bhupinder has been upset with the party for not giving him โ€“ or his son Deepinder Hooda โ€“ the post of state chief, sources said. He has a squabble relation with Haryana Congress chief Selja Kumari, who is believed to be close to the Gandhis.

Bhupinder was one of the newcomers who attended the meet. The 23 dissenters had written to Sonia Gandhi two years ago demanding big changes in the Congress, including a leadership overhaul.

At the Working Committee meeting to assess what went wrong in the elections, there was talk of forming a new committee to prepare for the elections after the parliament session, but no commitment was given about any hard change.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi asked the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) Presidents of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa & Manipur to put in their resignations in order to facilitate reorganization of PCCโ€™s, Congressโ€™ communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala informed on Tuesday.

This directive by Congress president comes after the grand old partyโ€™s drubbing in recently concluded assmebly elections.

The Congress lost to its prime rival BJP in UP, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur, whereas the AAP defeated the Congress in Punjab, where the Sonia Gandhi-led party was in power. 

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