Multi-cornered contest on cards as EC announces bypoll to Jind Assembly seat in Haryana

With the Election Commission (EC) announcing bypoll to the Jind Assembly constituency in Haryana on Monday, the seat is likely to witness a multi-cornered contest.

For the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Krishan Middha, son of late Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) MLA Hari Chand Middha, has emerged as the frontrunner to contest from the seat.

Middha, whose father's demise in August had necessitated the bypoll, had recently joined the saffron party.

State BJP chief Subhash Barala said Middha had joined the party "unconditionally", adding that he was a key contender for the Jind Assembly seat.

The EC on Monday announced that the bypoll to the Jind Assembly seat would be held on January 28 and the results will be out on January 31.

The seat had fallen vacant after Hari Chand Middha, an MLA from the INLD, the main opposition party in the state, passed away on August 26.

"The party will decide (on the candidature) on merit," Barala said.

He said a meeting of the BJP's election committee would be held shortly and the name of the candidate would be decided.

Last week, when Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar was asked about his party's preparations for the bypoll, which was not announced then, he had said, "Whenever these polls are declared, we are more than ready."