Panchkula segment set to witness direct fight between Congress, BJP

Tribune News Service

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Panchkula, August 27

While other political parties are yet to gain a foothold in Panchkula, the Assembly segment is set to witness a fixture between Congress and the BJP. Senior leaders, namely Congress’s former deputy CM Chander Mohan and BJP’s Gian Chand Gupta, who had a close contest in 2019 come with their respective strengths and weaknesses as they face competition from young, probable candidates from within the party folds.

Chander Mohan, who lost to Gupta by a close margin of nearly 5,600 votes in 2019, is all keen to take-on the BJP, yet again. In the do or die situation, the Congress-man has been canvassing in the constituency on an everyday basis. Chander Mohan Bishnoi, son of former Chief Minister of Haryana Bhajan Lal Bishnoi was elected from Kalka (which included Panchkula) for four consecutive terms from 1993 to 2005. He remained the deputy CM from 2005 to 2008, but later was absent from the political scenario for nearly 10 years due to controversies. He is eyeing a foothold in the predominantly urban constituency where the Congress continues to revel leaderless. Bishnoi, might face a hurdle in getting a ticket due to the party’s internal ‘groupism’ and his close proximity to Selja-Suljewala group amid the state-wide divide in Congress. He was seen campaigning for Selja in the Lok Sabha elections. Congress women wing chief Sudha Bhardwaj, leader Manish Bansal and former city mayor Upinder Kaur Ahluwalia also actively seek the party’s ticket. Bansal enjoys patronage due to his father’s proximity to the central leadership, and he along with Ahluwalia remain supporters of the Hooda group.

Gian Chand Gupta after a 10-year run as the constituency MLA and five-year tenure as the Assembly Speaker holds a prominent place in the segment. Gupta has served as state vice-president and was the chief whip of Haryana from 2016 to 2019, in his long association with the party. He also enjoys an image of a clean, mature and no-nonsense leadership. The 76-year-old leader has expressed his willingness to contest from the party. But given his age and the party’s need to bring in fresh faces, Gupta also faces quite a challenge this time. Discussions within party fold say Tarun Bhandari of the publicity cell, city mayor Kulbhushan Goyal, who enjoys Gupta’s support, and honorary general secretary of Child Welfare Council Ranjita Mehta are also among the probable candidates.