Why Virender Sehwag Campaigned For Congress Candidate In Tosham Against Newly Elected BJP Rajya Sabha MP's Daughter

Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag campaigned on Wednesday (2 October) for Congress candidate Anirudh Chaudhary in Tosham for the Haryana assembly elections scheduled for 5 October.

Interestingly, his campaign was against the daughter of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) newly elected Rajya Sabha MP Kiran Chaudhry, Shruti Choudhry.

The mother-daughter duo was in the Congress and joined the BJP in June earlier this year after the Lok Sabha election results. Soon, Kiran was rewarded with a Rajya Sabha seat.

Now, her daughter has been fielded from Tosham, a family legacy seat, which Kiran has been representing since 2005. Kiran is the daughter-in-law of former Haryana Chief Minister Chaudhry Bansi Lal.

Bansi Lal has won from Tosham five times and his son and Kiran's husband Surender Singh won thrice. After Surender's death in 2005, Kiran won the seat in the 2005 by-poll and since then has maintained her hold.

Meanwhile, her daughter Shruti became a Lok Sabha MP from Bhiwani in 2009 on the Congress ticket. But then lost twice in 2014 and 2019 against the BJP candidate and was denied a ticket in 2024.

After joining the BJP, she was fielded from her mother's seat Tosham. The Congress has fielded Anirudh Chaudhry, former treasurer of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

That explains his connection with cricketer Virender Sehwag. And hence, while campaigning for Anirudh, Sehwag called him his elder brother and urged the people of Tosham to vote for him.

Tosham is a family legacy seat for Anirudh also as he is the grandson of former CM Bansi Lal. Bansi Lal had two sons, Surender Singh, whose daughter is Shruti and Ranbir Singh Mahendra, whose son is Anirudh.

Mahendra was the BCCI president in 2004-2005 and Sehwag claimed that Anirudh's father supported him a lot. Thus, in a contest between cousins, Sehwag lent his support to Anirudh.

While campaigning with Sehwag, Anirudh raised the issues of farmers, water crisis and development during his campaign and attacked the ruling BJP.