The Congress on Sunday, 21 April announced candidates for five Lok Sabha seats in Haryana, fielding party heavyweight and former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda from Sonipat and replacing Faridabad candidate Lalit Nagar with Avtar Singh Bhadana.
Nagar, who was dropped as Faridabad candidate, is said to be close to former Congress president Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra, sources said.
With the announcement of the new list, the party has declared candidates for all the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana.
When asked to comment on his candidature, Hooda, who is a four-time MLA and has remained Lok Sabha MP on four occasions in the past, said he respects the party's decision to field him from Sonipat.