The Sirsa Assembly Constituency is poised for a high-stakes electoral battle in the Haryana Assembly elections. With the withdrawal of nomination papers by BJP candidate Rohtash Jangra, the Constituency is witnessing a significant face-off between Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP’s) candidate Gopal Kanda and Congress candidate Gokul Setia. Kanda is a sitting MLA in the Constituency.
Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) is supporting Kanda in this election. Shyam Sundar of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Pawan Sherpur of Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) are also in the race. The JJP is in an alliance with the Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) in the State, while INLD has tied up with the BSP.
As many as 54 candidates are contesting election in the Sirsa Constituency.
As far as the electoral history of this constituency is concerned, in 2019, Kanda, who belongs to the Bania Community, defeated Setia, who is grandson (daughter’s son) of five-time MLA Lakshman Das Arora, by a margin of just 602 votes. Kanda polled 44,915 votes with a vote share of 31.65 percent. Setia, who had fought then as an Independent candidate, got 44,313 votes (31.23 percent). BJP candidate Pardeep Ratusaria stood third with 30,142 votes (21.24 percent), and Congress candidate Hoshiari Lal was in fourth position with 10,111 votes (7.13 percent). The total number of valid votes polled was 1,41,326 in the 2019 Assembly election.
Kanda has previously served as Haryana's Home, Industries, and Urban Local Bodies Minister. He recently gained attention when a Delhi Court acquitted him in a high-profile case where he was accused of abetting the suicide of an air hostess.
Setia’s mother, Sunita Setia, had contested the 2014 assembly elections from Sirsa on a BJP ticket but lost.
In 2014, the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) candidate Makhan Lal Singla registered a win. In 2009, Independent candidate Gopal Kanda won the seat. In 2005 and 2000, Congress candidate Lachhman Dass Arora won from the constituency.
The contest in Sirsa took a new turn after BJP candidate Rohtash Jangra withdrew his nomination papers to support Kanda. Talking to reporters, Jangra said that his party will be joining hands with INLD-BSP-HLP candidate Gopal Kanda to defeat the Congress. Sources said that Jangra’s move came a day after HLP supremo Kanda said that he would help BJP form the government in Haryana a third time. During ticket distribution, there was speculation that the BJP might give Kanda the Sirsa ticket, but the party announced Rohtash Jangra as its candidate instead.
Kanda, while interacting with local media, said he is still a part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). After winning, he said, he would support BJP to form the government again. He added that his family had been associated with RSS since the beginning. He claimed that his father, Muralidhar Kanda, had contested the election from Dabwali in 1952 on the Jan Sangh ticket and his mother still voted for the BJP.
Talking to reporters, Setia alleged that the sitting MLA Kanda had supported the BJP-JJP government in the State, and this coalition Government had failed to fulfill the aspirations of the Sirsa segment. “People are upset with them. I have been carrying out my campaign across the segment. I will win the election from this constituency, he added.
Political Observers opine that though HLP, Congress, AAP and JJP have fielded their respective candidates in an attempt to make it a multi-corner contest, local sentiments indicate that it would be a direct and close contest between the HLP and Congress again. Money power plays a key role in the Assembly election in Sirsa. Kanda has a significant presence across the constituency. He has been nursing the constituency by personally reaching out to the electorate. Both Kanda and Setia are very resourceful.
As BJP candidate Jangra has withdrawn his nomination in line with the organization’s directions, the moves show the BJP’s desperation amid talk on the streets about the Congress assuming power after the assembly elections this time. Currently, the BJP is aiming to stop the division of its votes and making every attempt to divide the anti-BJP votes. It is interesting to witness how voters exercise their vote in this constituency, Observers added.
