Haryana MC POLL 2025: Excitement up in Sirsa as 7 remain in fray after withdrawal of nominations

The countdown to the Sirsa Municipal Election on March 2 has begun, with the deadline for withdrawal of nominations on Wednesday. By 3 pm, two covering candidates had automatically withdrawn their nominations, leaving seven candidates vying for the post of Chairperson. Among them are five candidates from major political parties and two Independents.

The nominations were initially filed on February 17, with candidates from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress, INLD, JJP, and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), as well as Independent candidates. BJP’s Shanti Swaroop Valmiki, Congress’s Jaswinder Kaur, INLD’s Omprakash Committeewala, JJP’s Praveen Kumar (Lucky Chaudhary), AAP’s Kavita Nagar, and Independent candidates Rajkumar (Raju) and Ashok Kumar filed their nominations. Two covering candidates, Harmeet Kaur from the Congress and Arvind Kumar from INLD, withdrew their nominations, leaving seven candidates for the final race.

The political scene is lively, with BJP trying to elect their candidates unopposed in some wards, while Independent candidates are also leaving no stone unturned. Although the Congress hasn’t officially fielded candidates for the municipal seats, local MLA Gokul Setia has released a list of candidates he supports for the 30 wards, some of whom had previously sought tickets from the Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP), led by former MLA Gopal Kanda.

In some areas, supporters of the INLD and JJP have also been forced to contest as Independents due to the lack of party support for the municipal seats. However, the Congress, INLD, JJP, and AAP have all fielded candidates for the chairperson’s post under their respective party symbols.

Kanda brothers included in BJP’s election campaign

On Wednesday, the Haryana BJP unit announced the list of the Election Management and Campaign Coordination Committee, which includes state ministers Krishan Bedi, BJP leader Gobind Kanda, HLP leader Gopal Kanda and former MLA from Fatehabad Dura Ram Bishnoi. Gopal Kanda’s Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP), is contesting the election under the BJP’s symbol. Now, the Kanda brothers will be campaigning for the BJP and asking for votes in the local body elections.

In the past Assembly elections, Gopal Kanda received support from the INLD and BSP, while the BJP had also supported him by withdrawing their own candidate to help Kanda. However, Gopal Kanda lost the election to Congress’s Gokul Setia. Now, local BJP leaders are urging the Kanda brothers to honour the alliance.

After the announcement of the local body elections, there were many heated discussions between the Kanda brothers and local BJP leaders. Gobind Kanda had accused local BJP leaders of stabbing the BJP in the back, while BJP leaders were firm about not wanting any alliance with the Kanda brothers.

They made it clear to the high command that they wanted to contest the elections independently. Despite this, the Kanda brothers insisted on striking a deal with BJP. After receiving orders from the high command, the Kanda brothers agreed to contest under the BJP’s election symbol, and now, the party high command has entrusted them with leading the election campaign.