Liquor baron Doda to ‘back’ BJP’s Abohar candidate

Raj Sadosh

Abohar, January 20

The Doda family and local units of SAD today expressed their willingness to back BJP candidate from Abohar Arun Narang. This development comes after Narang, district president Vishnu Bhagwan Delu and SAD circle president Ashok Ahuja reportedly met liquor baron Shiv Lal Doda in the district court complex on Wednesday.

Shiv Lal Doda is the main accused in the Bhim Tank murder case.

Doda had contested the 2012 Assembly election as an Independent and had pushed the BJP to the third position.

He got 45,825 votes as most SAD and BJP activists rallied around him to defeat Congress heavyweight Sunil Jakhar, but they did not succeed. BJP candidate Vijay Luxmi Bhadoo could not even get 10,000 votes and lost the security deposit.

Narang, escorted by activists, today went to the liquor baron’s office complex and formally requested Shiv Lal’s brother Avinash, SAD circle president Ashok Ahuja and other activists to help in the election campaign.

Then, they jointly addressed a press conference. Avinash claimed that his brother Shiv Lal had given his consent to support the BJP.

Later, Avinash Doda, Ashok Ahuja and local SAD leaders went to the BJP poll campaign office on Gaushala Road where they were welcomed by Narang, Delu and other leaders.

Justifying the decision taken by the liquor baron and his SAD supporters, the visiting leaders said their one-point programme was to prevent Sunil Jakhar from winning his fourth consecutive term.