News / Author / Pawan Sharma

Pawan Sharma

Pawan Sharma, based in Chandigarh, is Assistant Editor in HT and presently writes on Haryana's politics and governance. During different stints over the past two decades, he covered Punjab extensively for 10 years and before that judiciary and Himachal Pradesh with focus on high-impact news breaking and investigative journalism.

Articles by Pawan Sharma

Punjab’s objection to assembly land in Chandigarh finds echo in Haryana House

Congress MLA Ashok Arora raises issue during last sitting of the assembly’s winter session, describing statements by Punjab leaders on the matter “unfortunate, highly irresponsible and provocative”.

Chandigarh

Updated on Nov 19, 2024 12:26 PM IST

ByPawan Sharma

Ruckus in Haryana House as Congress attacks BJP on assembly poll verdict

The 90-member House saw intense exchanges between the Opposition Congress and ruling BJP during the five-hour debate on the motion of thanks to the governor’s address.

Speaker Harvinder Kalyan chairing the Haryana assembly session. (HT Photo)

Chandigarh

Updated on Nov 15, 2024 09:36 AM IST

ByPawan Sharma, Chandigarh

Haryana governor: Historic mandate reflects trust in govt’s development agenda

Governor Bandaru Dattatreya was addressing the assembly on the opening day of the winter session.

Chandigarh

Published on Nov 13, 2024 02:08 PM IST

ByPawan Sharma

Haryana’s sex ratio at birth drops to 905

Haryana, a state known for gender imbalance, now faces the risk of hitting its lowest SRB in eight years if this trend continues in November and December, health department officials associated with the flagship ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ programme said.

Data from the Civil Registration System (CRS) up to October 2024 shows that the SRB of six districts have dipped below 900. (HT Photo)

Chandigarh

Updated on Nov 08, 2024 09:04 AM IST

ByPawan Sharma, Chandigarh

High drama over ‘acting’ Speaker at Haryana assembly inaugural session

Bharat Bhushan Batra of Congress, backed by former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, voiced his disapproval to addressing party’s Raghuvir Singh Kadian, 80, as acting instead of pro-tem Speaker.

The inaugural sitting of the newly elected Haryana assembly began with unexpected drama on Friday when Congress members objected to Raghuvir Singh Kadian (in pic) being addressed as acting instead of pro-tem Speaker. (HT file photo)

Chandigarh

Updated on Oct 26, 2024 09:08 AM IST

ByPawan Sharma

Stubble burning: Haryana suspends 24 agriculture officials ahead of apex court hearing

10 fresh farm fire cases take the state tally to 665. Around 3,000 FIRs have been lodged in connection with stubble burning cases so far, says minister Shyam Singh Rana.

Farmers burning stubble,in Haryana's Kaithal. (PTI)

Chandigarh

Updated on Oct 23, 2024 09:06 AM IST

ByPawan Sharma, Chandigarh

Haryana suspends 24 agriculture dept officials amid rising farm fire incidents

Move comes on eve of Supreme Court hearing and reflects administration’s strict stance on enforcing ban on paddy stubble burning to check air pollution in the region.

A farmer setting fire to stubble after harvesting the paddy crop. The Haryana agriculture department suspended 24 officials amid rising stubble burning incidents in their respective areas on Tuesday. (HT file photo)

Chandigarh

Published on Oct 22, 2024 02:43 PM IST

ByPawan Sharma

Haryana CM’s oath-taking: VVIP attendees, cheering crowd and many memorable moments

Dressed up in their traditional attire with full-length shining staff in hand, the peasants with wrinkled faces were among the first to occupy chairs earmarked for the progressive farmers in the middle of the vast venue decked up in elegant decor for the momentous occasion

Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini arrives for his swearing-in ceremony in Panchkula on Thursday. (PTI)

Chandigarh

Updated on Oct 18, 2024 09:42 AM IST

ByPawan Sharma, Panchkula

Nayab Singh Saini stakes claim to form BJP govt in Haryana, to take oath tomorrow

Haryana BJP legislature party unanimously elects Saini as its leader, clearing decks for his second innings as chief minister. Union minister Amit Shah and Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav attended legislature party meet as central observers.

Union home minister Amit Shah greeting Nayab Singh Saini after he was unanimously elected as the Haryana BJP’s legislature party leader in Panchkula on Wednesday. (PTI Photo)

Chandigarh

Updated on Oct 16, 2024 02:15 PM IST

ByPawan Sharma

All set for swearing-in, PM, BJP top brass to attend gala event on Thursday

BJP insiders say that invitations are being extended to senior leaders from opposition parties in Haryana, such as Congress stalwart Bhupinder Singh Hooda, as well as key figures from the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and Jannayak Janta Party (JJP)

Preparations for Haryana government's swearing-in ceremony to be held at Dussehra ground underway in Panchkula. (Sant Arora/HT)

Chandigarh

Updated on Oct 16, 2024 05:58 AM IST

ByPawan Sharma, Chandigarh

Haryana BJP MLAs to pick next CM on Wednesday under Amit Shah’s watch

The importance of the upcoming first meeting of the Haryana BJP legislature party, set to be held at the party office ‘Panch Kamal’ in Panchkula, is evident from the high-profile observers--Union home minister Amit Shah and Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav--BJP has appointed to oversee the election of the party leader, who will be sworn in as chief minister

BJP sources say the meeting is likely to begin at 10 am on Wednesday. (HT File)

Chandigarh

Updated on Oct 16, 2024 05:52 AM IST

ByPawan Sharma, Chandigarh

BJP’s gamble on fresh faces paid off in Haryana assembly elections

BJP insiders say that at the core of this stunning victory in the Haryana assembly elections was the meticulously planned social engineering, and harsh decisions such as dropping 14 sitting MLAs, to beat anti-incumbency. The party had fielded 27 legislators and 15 of them have won.

Union minister of housing and urban affairs Manohar Lal Khattar meets Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini following Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) victory in state assembly elections, in New Delhi on Wednesday. (Nayab Saini-X)

Chandigarh

Updated on Oct 10, 2024 06:12 AM IST

ByPawan Sharma, Chandigarh

Five factors that helped BJP defy anti-incumbency in Haryana

Here are five factors that look like to have helped the saffron party, which appears to be making a stunning comeback for the third consecutive term

BJP supporters during counting of votes for Haryana Assembly polls, in Jind, on Tuesday. (PTI)

India News

Published on Oct 08, 2024 01:00 PM IST

ByPawan Sharma

Counting today in Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir for first results after LS polls

Votes from 19 million cast in Jammu & Kashmir and Haryana will be counted Tuesday, with exit polls predicting a Congress comeback in Haryana.

A security personnel checks the area around Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC), a counting centre for Jammu & Kashmir Assembly elections, a day before the election results, in Srinagar, on Monday. (PTI)

India News

Updated on Oct 08, 2024 05:00 AM IST

ByPawan Sharma, Mir Ehsan

Voter turnout in 11 Haryana segments crosses 75% mark

Haryana saw a voter turnout of 67.9% in the assembly polls, with 48 segments exceeding 70%. The election featured 1,031 candidates and was marked by fierce contests.

A booth-level officer helps a woman verify her name in the voting list outside a polling station during the state assembly elections, in Karnal. (REUTERS)

Chandigarh

Updated on Oct 07, 2024 08:46 AM IST

ByPawan Sharma, Chandigarh

Merit-based recruitment echo in hinterland of Haryana

About 150 km away, in Mithee Surera, a village near the Rajasthan border, Rajinder, also a labourer, celebrates his daughter’s recent selection in the Delhi Police. At least 30 youth from Mithee Surera village of over 2,600 registered voters hailing from the ‘36 biradri’ were recruited in the Haryana government in different permanent posts like lecturer, school master and a sub-inspector in last five years, says Mohan Lal.

As the candidates in the fray are often behind the scheduled time, unemployment and recruitment on merit is among the many other hot topics of discussion among people assembled at the village chaupals waiting for the arrival of the party nominee. (HT File)

Chandigarh

Updated on Sep 30, 2024 05:50 AM IST

ByPawan Sharma, Sirsa/fatehabad:

HT interview: People fed up with misgovernance in Haryana, Centre, says Om Parkash Chautala

Ahead of the Haryana elections, Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) president and former Haryana chief minister Om Parkash Chautala speaks to HT on the party’s poll prospects and BJP’s alleged misgovernance in the state and at the Centre, among other issues.

India News

Updated on Sep 28, 2024 06:58 AM IST

ByPawan Sharma, Ratia

Poll interview| BJP will be wiped out in Haryana, says INLD leader Om Prakash Chautala

Says PM Modi’s success stems from failures of opposition parties; rules out Congress comeback and believes people will bury JJP after October 5 assembly elections.

At 93, Indian National Lok Dal supremo Om Parkash Chautala’s remains a force to reckon with in poll-bound Haryana. (HT file photo)

Chandigarh

Updated on Sep 27, 2024 05:46 PM IST

ByPawan Sharma

Haryana polls: In Tohana cliffhanger, candidates ride high on combine harvesters

With 12 candidates in the fray, including INLD’s Kunal Karan Singh, 36, grandson of former chief minister Om Parkash Chautala, this predominantly rural constituency in Fatehabad district bordering Punjab is emerging as one of Haryana’s most keenly watched battles, where the outcome will be shaped by a delicate balance of local loyalties and statewide trends.

BJP’s turncoat candidate Devender Singh Babli, 54, who in 2019 won as the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) candidate and joined the saffron party after the Congress refused him a ticket, driving a combine harvester while campaigning in Tohana on Thursday. (HT Photo)

Chandigarh

Published on Sep 26, 2024 03:57 PM IST

ByPawan Sharma

Haryana: Bhajan Lal’s grandson set for bumpy ride in family’s Adampur bastion

BJP’s Bhavya Bishnoi, 31, banks on ‘56 saal ka vishwas aur vikas’ for 17th consecutive win of family from its stronghold as he takes on bureaucrat-turned-Congress candidate Chander Parkash, 61, who is urging voters to give him a chance.

BJP’s Bhavya Bishnoi with supporters during electioneering in the Adampur assembly constituency.

Chandigarh

Updated on Sep 25, 2024 08:22 AM IST

ByPawan Sharma

Haryana assembly polls: At 23%, AAP tops list of candidates with criminal cases

The AAP’s Nuh segment nominee Rabia Kidwai has declared “cheques dishonoured” in the brief description of offence column, while Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) nominee Sheela Nafe Singh Rathee (Bahadurgarh) has been facing four criminal cases under sections 420 (cheating) and 467 (forgery) of the Indian Penal Code

At least 36% Independent candidates (43 out of 119) are among those with criminal background and striving to become law makers in Haryana. (HT File)

Chandigarh

Updated on Sep 19, 2024 08:34 AM IST

ByPawan Sharma, Chandigarh

Once a key force, INLD to fight only on 51 seats

Once the dominant political force in Haryana, the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), whose patriarch, the late Chaudhary Devi Lal, was India’s deputy prime minister, has fielded just 51 candidates for elections to the 90-member state assembly with its ally Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) contesting another 38 seats.

The INLD started weakening after it lost to the Congress in 2005. However, the party bounced back in 2014 by emerging the principal opposition party in Haryana Vidhan Sabha with 19 legislators and INLD general secretary Abhay Chautala became the leader of Opposition in the assembly, pushing the Congress to the third position with 17 seats. (HT File)

Chandigarh

Updated on Sep 17, 2024 06:54 AM IST

ByPawan Sharma, Chandigarh

Stage set for high-octane election battle in Haryana

Battlelines drawn: 1,031 candidates left in fray as 190 candidates withdraw nomination papers. During the single-phase polling on October 5, total 2,03,54,350 voters (1,07,75,957 men, 95,77,926 women, and 467 third gender) will decide the fate of 1,031 candidates and which party will rule Haryana.

MP Deepender Hooda after pacifying Congress rebels Jasbir Malour and Himmat Singh, who were contesting against party candidate Nirmal Singh in Ambala City. Both withdrew their nominations on Monday. (HT Photo)

Chandigarh

Updated on Sep 17, 2024 06:42 AM IST

ByPawan Sharma, Chandigarh

Still a man’s world: Haryana political parties shy away from fielding women

Just 51 women have been given party tickets this time round, in the last 14 assembly elections, only 87 women have become lawmakers in the state

From left: Congress’ Geeta Bhukkal, Independent Savitri Jindal and BJP’s Arti Rao. (HT File)

Chandigarh

Updated on Sep 14, 2024 08:50 AM IST

ByPawan Sharma, Sunil Rahar, Chandigarh

Haryana assembly polls: BJP 2nd list out, drops 2 ministers, 5 MLAs; fields 11 new faces

Haryana has total 90-assembly constituencies and the ruling BJP has now declared 87 candidates; the BJP is yet to field its nominees in Faridabad-NIT, Mahendergarh and Sirsa segments

The party’s second list, released before the September 12 deadline for filing nominations, is replete with its gambit of social engineering, shuffling of candidates and fielding fresh faces while denying tickets to incumbent legislators, a move aimed at bucking the anti-incumbency of its 10-year rule in Haryana. (HT File)

Chandigarh

Updated on Sep 11, 2024 07:30 AM IST

ByPawan Sharma, Chandigarh

Haryana elections: BJP’s second list of 21 candidates out, six MLAs dropped

With this, the BJP has fielded 87 candidates and three segments where the party is yet to announce the candidates are Faridabad-NIT, Sirsa and Mahendergarh.

The BJP dropped six legislators, including the minister of state for education, in its second list of 21 candidates released on Tuesday. (Representational photo)

Chandigarh

Published on Sep 10, 2024 03:56 PM IST

ByPawan Sharma

Haryana elections: BJP names 67 candidates, CM Saini from Ladwa

BJP announces 67 candidates for Haryana assembly polls, retaining 21 incumbents, introducing 20 new faces, and dropping 8 MLAs amid anti-incumbency.

Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini. (HT file)

Chandigarh

Updated on Sep 05, 2024 08:32 AM IST

ByPawan Sharma, Chandigarh

Existential battle for JJP in high-stakes Haryana assembly polls

Having positioned itself as a promising regional player during its time in power, JJP has been hit by desertions and decline in clout of late

Former Haryana deputy CM Dushyant Chautala (File)

India News

Updated on Sep 02, 2024 05:09 AM IST

ByPawan Sharma, Chandigarh

BJP bets big on ‘night watchman’ Nayab Singh Saini to fight off anti-incumbency

During this short window, the Saini-led minority government took a slew of please-all populist decisions almost daily.

Major challenge before Nayab Singh Saini who got just 77 days to run the government without poll code restrictions (HT File)

Chandigarh

Updated on Aug 30, 2024 04:51 AM IST

ByPawan Sharma, Chandigarh

Job woes a major hurdle in BJP’s hattrick dash in Haryana

Unemployment, along with Agnipath and farmers’ issues, is the Congress’ primary arsenal to ambush the ruling BJP in state where over 46 lakh voters are in the 18-29 age group

The Congress has been belligerent in targeting the BJP over ‘unmet poll promises’. (HT Photo)

Chandigarh

Updated on Aug 27, 2024 07:16 AM IST

ByPawan Sharma, Chandigarh

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Pawan Sharma

Congress MLA Ashok Arora raises issue during last sitting of the assembly’s winter session, describing statements by Punjab leaders on the matter “unfortunate, highly irresponsible and provocative”.

The 90-member House saw intense exchanges between the Opposition Congress and ruling BJP during the five-hour debate on the motion of thanks to the governor’s address.

Governor Bandaru Dattatreya was addressing the assembly on the opening day of the winter session.

Haryana, a state known for gender imbalance, now faces the risk of hitting its lowest SRB in eight years if this trend continues in November and December, health department officials associated with the flagship ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ programme said.

Bharat Bhushan Batra of Congress, backed by former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, voiced his disapproval to addressing party’s Raghuvir Singh Kadian, 80, as acting instead of pro-tem Speaker.

10 fresh farm fire cases take the state tally to 665. Around 3,000 FIRs have been lodged in connection with stubble burning cases so far, says minister Shyam Singh Rana.

Move comes on eve of Supreme Court hearing and reflects administration’s strict stance on enforcing ban on paddy stubble burning to check air pollution in the region.

Dressed up in their traditional attire with full-length shining staff in hand, the peasants with wrinkled faces were among the first to occupy chairs earmarked for the progressive farmers in the middle of the vast venue decked up in elegant decor for the momentous occasion

Haryana BJP legislature party unanimously elects Saini as its leader, clearing decks for his second innings as chief minister. Union minister Amit Shah and Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav attended legislature party meet as central observers.

BJP insiders say that invitations are being extended to senior leaders from opposition parties in Haryana, such as Congress stalwart Bhupinder Singh Hooda, as well as key figures from the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and Jannayak Janta Party (JJP)

BJP insiders say that at the core of this stunning victory in the Haryana assembly elections was the meticulously planned social engineering, and harsh decisions such as dropping 14 sitting MLAs, to beat anti-incumbency. The party had fielded 27 legislators and 15 of them have won.

Here are five factors that look like to have helped the saffron party, which appears to be making a stunning comeback for the third consecutive term

Votes from 19 million cast in Jammu & Kashmir and Haryana will be counted Tuesday, with exit polls predicting a Congress comeback in Haryana.

Haryana saw a voter turnout of 67.9% in the assembly polls, with 48 segments exceeding 70%. The election featured 1,031 candidates and was marked by fierce contests.

Ahead of the Haryana elections, Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) president and former Haryana chief minister Om Parkash Chautala speaks to HT on the party’s poll prospects and BJP’s alleged misgovernance in the state and at the Centre, among other issues.

Says PM Modi’s success stems from failures of opposition parties; rules out Congress comeback and believes people will bury JJP after October 5 assembly elections.

BJP’s Bhavya Bishnoi, 31, banks on ‘56 saal ka vishwas aur vikas’ for 17th consecutive win of family from its stronghold as he takes on bureaucrat-turned-Congress candidate Chander Parkash, 61, who is urging voters to give him a chance.

Battlelines drawn: 1,031 candidates left in fray as 190 candidates withdraw nomination papers. During the single-phase polling on October 5, total 2,03,54,350 voters (1,07,75,957 men, 95,77,926 women, and 467 third gender) will decide the fate of 1,031 candidates and which party will rule Haryana.

Just 51 women have been given party tickets this time round, in the last 14 assembly elections, only 87 women have become lawmakers in the state

Haryana has total 90-assembly constituencies and the ruling BJP has now declared 87 candidates; the BJP is yet to field its nominees in Faridabad-NIT, Mahendergarh and Sirsa segments

With this, the BJP has fielded 87 candidates and three segments where the party is yet to announce the candidates are Faridabad-NIT, Sirsa and Mahendergarh.

BJP announces 67 candidates for Haryana assembly polls, retaining 21 incumbents, introducing 20 new faces, and dropping 8 MLAs amid anti-incumbency.

Having positioned itself as a promising regional player during its time in power, JJP has been hit by desertions and decline in clout of late

During this short window, the Saini-led minority government took a slew of please-all populist decisions almost daily.

Unemployment, along with Agnipath and farmers’ issues, is the Congress’ primary arsenal to ambush the ruling BJP in state where over 46 lakh voters are in the 18-29 age group

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