Congress leader Raj Babbar files nomination for Gurgaon LS seat

Actor-turned-politician Raj Babbar, who is contesting the Lok Sabha polls on a Congress ticket, on Friday, 3 May, filed nomination for the Gurgaon parliamentary seat.

Raj Babbar will be facing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate -- Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh, and the Jannayak Janta Party candidate -- singer-rapper Rahul Yadav, popularly known as Fazilpuria.

Raj Babbar was accompanied by senior Congress leader and former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Haryana unit Congress president Chaudhary Uday Bhan while filing his nomination.

After submitting the affidavit, Babbar along with party leaders addressed a public rally at the Old Club Ground, Civil Lines where he urged the people to vote for him. However, Captain Ajay Yadav, who has been denied the ticket this time, stayed away from the rally. Lots of chairs in the rally were empty due to his absence.

A number of people from the neighbouring Nuh district also attended the rally.

On the 'outsider' banter, Raj Babbar said: "My roots are from Haryana, my relatives are living in different parts of the state."

He pointed out that he is not contesting against anyone but wants to provide basic facilities to the people of the constituency.

He criticised Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh, the sitting Gurgaon MP, and said that despite being a ruling party MP, he failed to expand the railway network in Nuh or the Metro line in Gurugram, and even failed to improve the city's overall condition.

Speaking at the rally, Raj Babbar said even as he has no house in Gurugram, he wants to stay in the constituency to resolve the pending problems of the people.

"Do vote for Congress and allow the situation to improve. People from across the world live in Gurugram but during the rainy season I have seen that they face a lot of problems, mainly in commuting," he said.

Meanwhile, Bhupinder Singh Hooda said that this time, the people of Haryana will cast their votes to uproot the BJP from the Centre, and state.