Two weeks after Haryana chief minister (CM) Nayab Singh Saini announced the decision to contest Haryana assembly elections in an alliance with Sirsa MLA Gopal Kanda’s Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP), Kanda’s brother Gobind Kanda on Wednesday said his son Dhawal Kanda will contest polls from Rania assembly seat on an HLP ticket.
The announcement comes as a jolt to the saffron party and sitting independent Rania MLA Ranjit Chautala, who is the jails and power minister in BJP-led state government.
Notably, Gobind Kanda contesting on an HLP ticket had lost the 2019 assembly polls to Ranjit Chautala by a margin of 19,431 votes. Two years later, Gobind joined the BJP and contested the Ellenabad by-poll but was handed another defeat by INLD’s Abhay Chautala.
Addressing his workers, Gobind Kanda said that his brother Gopal Kanda, who heads the Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP) had carried out a survey in which Rania voters preferred Dhawal Kanda.
“On my brother and HLP chief’s direction, I announce Dhawal Kanda as the party candidate from Rania assembly seat. The party office will be opened by Gopal on August 18 in Rania,” he added.
Dhawal’s candidature is a jolt to Ranjit Chautala also, who is preparing to contest from Rania on BJP’s seat after facing defeat in the Lok Sabha polls from Hisar parliamentary constituency. Some experts termed Dhawal’s candidature from Rania as a ‘pressure politics’ by the Kanda brothers’ to claim over the seat. The BJP leaders refused to comment on the issue and Ranjit Chautala could not be reached for a comment despite repeated phone calls and text messages.
{{/usCountry}}Dhawal’s candidature is a jolt to Ranjit Chautala also, who is preparing to contest from Rania on BJP’s seat after facing defeat in the Lok Sabha polls from Hisar parliamentary constituency. Some experts termed Dhawal’s candidature from Rania as a ‘pressure politics’ by the Kanda brothers’ to claim over the seat. The BJP leaders refused to comment on the issue and Ranjit Chautala could not be reached for a comment despite repeated phone calls and text messages.
{{/usCountry}}Gobind said that his brother Gopal Kanda’s office is open for 24 hours and he is fulfilling his promises made to Sirsa assembly voters in the 2019 assembly elections. He said that the chief minister Nayab Singh Saini will inaugurate the medical college in Sirsa soon.
According to sources, Gobind Kanda is eyeing to contest the assembly polls from Fatehabad, his brother Gopal from Sirsa and son Dhawal from Rania. Earlier, the HLP had announced Harmandar Brar’s candidature from Kalanwali in Sirsa.