New Delhi, Aug 28 (PTI) Congress MPs from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will not be given permission by the party to contest Haryana assembly polls, AICC in-charge of the state Deepak Babaria said on Wednesday.

Babaria's remarks come amid speculation that some senior leaders such as Kumari Selja were keen on contesting the elections. He said this as the party's screening committee headed by Ajay Maken met here to deliberate on potential candidates for 90 Assembly seats.

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Asked about some MPs being interested in contesting the Assembly polls in Haryana, Babaria told reporters, "Nobody will be given permission to contest."

Pressed further on the issue, he said, "To fight elections they will be required to take permission from the Congress president and high command and the broad thinking that is emerging is that no one will be given permission."

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"When the claim of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha member comes, the committee's approach would be that they should focus on the campaign instead of contesting," he said.

Later, Babaria said discussion has been held on potential candidates for 25 seats.

"In my knowledge, no Parliament member has shown any desire to contest the assembly elections. Without permission of the party, how can anyone contest elections?" he said.

Asked if Randeep Surjewala's son may contest the polls, Babaria said he could if he wants to.

His remarks come days after Lok Sabha MP Selja indicated her desire to contest the upcoming assembly elections and said she wishes to work in the state but the high command will take a final call on the matter. There was speculation that Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Surjewala may also be considering to contest the polls.

The Election Commission earlier this month announced that polls to the 90-member Haryana Assembly will be held on October 1 and the results declared on October 4. Haryana is currently ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Congress is looking to unseat the BJP and return to power after remaining 10 years in the opposition.

After the last assembly elections, the BJP formed a coalition government with the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP). However, the coalition broke after disagreements over seat-sharing in the Lok Sabha elections. Later, the BJP saved its government with the support of Independent MLAs.

In the Lok Sabha elections held a few months ago, the BJP and the Congress won five seats each of the 10 seats in Haryana.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)