Before getting relief from the Punjab and Haryana High Court, jailed Congress candidate Surender Panwar's kin, including daughter-in-law Samiksha Panwar, had been leading his campaign in the Assembly elections for the sitting MLA. Panwar was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in July in a case of alleged money laundering and illegal mining in Haryana. He got relief from the High Court on Tuesday.
Sonepat has witnessed a direct contest between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress in the last 25 years. Panwar, the sitting Sonipat MLA, this time is against BJP Candidate Nikhil Madaan, who is a Mayor looking to make his debut as an MLA. By giving tickets to a young Punjabi face, Madaan, the BJP has played the Punjabi card. Earlier, Madaan was with Congress but joined the BJP in July this year.
After the withdrawal of nomination by BJP rebel and former Media Advisor to Chief Minister, Rajiv Jain, the contest seems to be between Congress and BJP candidates directly.
The Sonepat seat has a considerable Punjabi population but since 2009, non-Punjabi candidates have been elected. In 2009 and 2014, BJP candidate Kavita Jain was elected from Sonepat while in 2019, Congress candidate Surender Panwar was elected. Kavita Jain was denied a ticket this time by BJP.
As far as electoral history of this constitution is concerned, the BJP had won the seat four times — in 1982, 1987, 2009 and 2014 — while Mukhtyar Singh of Bharatiya Jana Sangh had won in 1968, 1977.
BJP leader Devi Das led the constituency consecutively two times — 1982 and 1987. BJP leader Kavita Jain won in 2009 and 2014. Congress had won from here five times — including 1967, 1972, 1991, 2005 and 2019 — while Sonepat constituency was won by an Independent Devraj Diwan in 1996 and 2000.
In the 2019 Assembly polls, Panwar won Sonepat by polling 59.51 percent votes of a total of 2.16 lakh electorates. The BJP’s Kavita Jain came second with 34.88 percent votes. In the 2014 Assembly polls, Jain won the seat by getting 45.80 percent votes out of 1.80 lakh electorates, while the Congress’s Dev Raj Diwan got 25 percent votes. Panwar was at the time with the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and had got 24 percent votes.
With just 10 days left for the Assembly polling day on October 5, the electioneering in Haryana has picked up pace and the opposing fronts have drastically sharpened their attacks on each other.
Panwar’s father Dilip Singh Pawar, wife Sunita, son Lalit are also canvassing for him, it is his daughter-in-law Samiksha, 33, who has been at the centre of the campaign. In her public rallies and door-to-door meetings, Samiksha has been appealing to voters to ensure “justice” for her father-in-law.
Talking to reporters at Dev Nagar area in Sonepat, Samiksha said that she is seeking votes from the people for her father-in-law. She has entered the battle for justice. This is not any BJP versus Congress fight. This is a battle for justice. “In this battle, I am reaching out to the people from the past two months and I am sure that Sonipat people will support the truth and justice on polling day. I have come here with great hopes,” she added.
Samiksha, an engineering graduate, said that people will vote for her father-in-law and he will become a Minister if Congress wins the elections on October 8.
Talking to reporters, BJP Candidate Madaan said, “People will vote for me in this election. Being a Mayor, I have done a lot of work here. If the public votes because candidates get emotional, everyone would get votes. But votes are not obtained on emotions.” He alleged that the sitting MLA and Congress candidate has not done any work in the last five years. Panwar cannot list even “five projects” that he has carried out in his tenure. He said, “I appeal to the people to vote for me. Lotus is going to bloom on the Sonepat seat as the people want to bring the BJP government consecutively for the third time in the State.”
High Court has given justice to Panwar: Bhupinder Hooda
Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday allowed the petition of Panwar against the Directorate of Enforcement for declaring his arrest illegal. The order was pronounced in the open court by Justice Mahabir Singh Sindhu of the High Court but the detailed judgment was not yet available while the story was being filed.
Addressing the public rally in Sonepat, the former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda reacted to the issue and said that Congress candidate Surendra Panwar is an honest man. “The court has done justice to Surendra Panwar and now people should also do complete justice to Panwar. Every vote cast for Panwar will go to Bhupendra Singh Hooda and a people's government will be formed in the state,” he stated.
Panwar contended that his arrest and detention in the matter were driven by political motives, rather than legitimate legal grounds and that the legal process was not properly followed by the authorities concerned. In his petition placed before Justice Sindhu’s Bench, Panwar was also seeking directions for declaring his arrest “non-est” and against the statutory provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the provisions of the Constitution. Panwar through senior advocate RS Cheema with Arshdeep Singh Cheema and Tanu Bedi submitted that his politically motivated arrest was linked to the upcoming state Assembly elections and a part of vendetta. He was not named in the original FIRs and had no direct involvement in the alleged crimes, but was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate.
