Ellenabad bypoll: Pawan Beniwal gets Cong ticket; Gobind Kanda files nomination

Deepender Deswal

Tribune News Service

Hisar, October 7

The Congress has reposed faith in Pawan Beniwal to take on Abhay Chautala at INLD bastion Ellenabad in Sirsa district.

Beniwal had contested the two previous Assembly polls on BJP ticket and had crossed over to the Congress recently.

The bypoll was necessitated after INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala resigned from the Assembly seat in the farmers’ support. Now, he is seeking re-election riding on the farmers’ sympathy.

Political observers stated that both the BJP and Congress have had to ‘import’ candidates to make inroads into the Chautala stronghold.

“The candidates of the BJP as well as the Congress are resourceful and have their own cadres. Ellenabad has been a traditional stronghold of the INLD which has won the seat 10 times since 1967,” said Kuldeep Singh of Mallekan village.

Pawan Beniwal was inducted into the party by state Congress president Kumari Selja in Delhi on September 13. Now, the role of Congress ticket aspirant Bharat Beniwal — who happens to be the uncle and arch-rival of Pawan Beniwal — will be crucial in the bypoll outcome, Kuldeep added.

Pawan had lost the two previous polls to Abhay Chautala as BJP candidate in 2014 and 2019.

Meanwhile, BJP-JJP alliance candidate Gobind Kanda filed nomination papers today. He was accompanied by BJP state president OP Dhankar, JJP state president Nishan Singh, Power Minister Ranjit Singh and MP Sunita Duggal.

Gobind had contested the two previous elections from Rania on Haryana Lokhit Party ticket floated by his elder brother and Sirsa MLA Gopal Kanda.

Political observers said that Ellenabad byelection is also the battleground for claiming the legacy of the former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal.

While former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala will spearhead the INLD campaign, Abhay’s nephew and JJP leader Dushyant Chautala, Power Minister Ranjit Singh (Abhay’s uncle), district BJP president Aditya Chautala (Abhay’s cousin) will be canvassing for Gobind Kanda.

Coincidentally, Ranjit Singh, as an Independent candidate, had defeated Gobind Kanda in the 2019 Assembly poll from Rania segment.

Gobind Kandas’ assets

Gobind Kanda and his wife Sarita have total assets worth Rs65.32 crore. These include jewellery owned by Kanda worth Rs59.83 lakh and his wife’s jewellery worth Rs1.08 crore. Kanda and Sarita don’t own a car.

Five file papers

Returning Officer and SDM Narender Pal Malik said that on Thursday, five candidates filed their nomination papers for the Ellenabad Assembly byelection. He said that nominations could be filed by October 8. Scrutiny of nominations would take place on October 11. The last date of withdrawal of nomination is October 13.

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