Kanda versus Setia likely in Sirsa segment

Deepender Deswal
Tribune News Service
Hisar, August 3
An interesting political scenario is emerging in the Sirsa Assembly constituency which is represented by Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP) chief Gopal Kanda in the Vidhan Sabha. This is one of the few seats where two major political parties — the BJP and the Congress — seem to be weighed down by independent local leaders.

Rise of Independents

• Gopal Kanda won as an Independent in 2009 and lost the next poll to INLD’s Makkhan Singla
• Kanda formed the Haryana Lokhit Party and won in the 2019 polls by a close margin of
  602 votes against Independent Gokul Setia
• Setia, who is grandson of five-time MLA Lakshman Das Arora, set to enter poll fray yet again
• The Congress has won Sirsa seat nine times since 1952; Devi Lal won twice (1952 and 1959) on Congress ticket
• Arora won this seat three times for the Congress, once for the Jan Sangh and once as an Independent

A repeat of the contest seems imminent in the Sirsa segment in the next Assembly election as the 2019’s runner-up Gokul Setia, 34, is set to enter the fray for the second time as an independent to challenge Kanda. In a close contest, Kanda who belongs to the Bania community defeated Setia, who is grandson (daughter’s son) of five-time MLA Lakshman Das Arora, by a margin of just 602 votes in 2019 Assembly elections.
Political experts said though the BJP, Congress, INLD and JJP could also field their respective candidates in an attempt to make it a multi-corner contest, local sentiments indicate that it would be a direct and close contest between the HLP and an Independent candidate yet again. In 2019, the INLD backed Setia and he is hoping for its support in the next election too.
The visit of the CM Nayab Singh Saini at the residence of Gopal Kanda has triggered speculations that he could get the backing of the BJP in the Assembly polls. The CM too had remarked that they (BJP and Kanda) would contest collectively and won all five seats in Sirsa district.
Kanda said that the HLP was part of the BJP-led NDA and added that he hoped that a final decision (on alliance) would be taken soon. He said he had been focusing on the development of Sirsa district, including the foundation stone of the proposed medical college.
Setia, however, countered that the sitting MLA as the state government had failed to fulfil the aspirations of the Sirsa segment. “People are upset with them. I have been carrying out my campaign across the segment and have made up my mind to contest the poll as independent yet again,” he said adding that he hoped that the INLD would again support him in the Assembly poll.
ML Goyal, a retired professor of political science from the government college in Hisar, said money power played a key role in the Assembly election in Sirsa. “Kandas are resourceful and have significant presence across the constituency in Sirsa. Gopal Kanda has been nursing the constituency by personally reaching out to the electorate. No doubt, he is a very resourceful person”, he said. He observed that factionalism in the local units of the BJP and the Congress was to be blamed for the emergence of local leadership like Kanda and Setia in Sirsa.