The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday named Govind Kanda as its nominee for the October 30 Ellenabad assembly by-poll in Haryana. Govind Kanda is the brother of Gopal Kanda, the lone lawmaker of the Haryana Lokhit Party, who joined the BJP last week. He unsuccessfully contested assembly polls in 2014 and 2019.
The by-poll is significant in view of the ongoing farmer agitation against the three farm laws passed last year. Haryana is among the states where the agitation has drawn much support.
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The Jat-dominated Ellenabad seat fell vacant after Abhay Singh Chautala, the lone lawmaker of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) resigned in January in protest against the laws. Chautala will contest the by-poll.
Pawan Beniwal, who contested the seat on a BJP ticket in 2019, has since left the party to show solidarity with the ongoing farmer agitation and joined the Congress, which is yet to announce its candidate for the by-poll.