New Delhi, Sep 11 : The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday released its fourth list of candidates for the Haryana Assembly elections, adding 21 more names to it. This brings the total number of declared candidates to 61. Among the notable entries is Kavita Dalal, a former WWE wrestler, who will challenge Olympic wrestler Vinesh Phogat for the Julana seat.

The Haryana Assembly election, covering 90 seats, is scheduled for October 5, with the deadline for nominations set for September 12.

The other key names include Sunil Bindal, who will run from Karnal. Other candidates include Sham Mehta from Sirsa, Lalit Tyagi from Yamuna Nagar, Sanjay Satrodia from Hisar, and Nishant Anand from Gurugram.

The contest in Julana is shaping up to be particularly interesting with a focus on two prominent wrestlers -- AAP's Kavita Dalal and Congress' Vinesh Phogat. Adding to the competitive dynamic is BJP's candidate, Captain Yogesh Bairagi, who is well-known in the constituency for his involvement with the Central government's Vande Bharat Mission.

During the global Covid-19 pandemic, this mission was launched by the Central government to repatriate Indian nationals and facilitate travel between India and various global destinations.

The AAP initially announced its first list of 20 candidates on Monday, following the breakdown of seat-sharing talks with Congress.

The Congress and AAP had previously collaborated in Delhi during Lok Sabha elections but contested separately in Punjab.

In Haryana, while Congress had allocated one seat to AAP in the general elections, AAP did not succeed. In the 2019 Haryana Assembly elections, AAP had contested 46 seats but did not win any.

AAP Haryana President Sushil Gupta stated: "We have been preparing for all 90 seats from the beginning. With the deadline for nominations approaching on September 12, the wait is over."

Earlier, AAP leader Manish Sisodia participated in the nomination rally for Anurag Dhanda, the party's state vice president, who is contesting from the Kalayat seat.

Sisodia asserted that the party's primary focus is on combating corruption and improving education, healthcare, and job opportunities.

/IANS