Gopal Kanda’s journey: From small-time trader to key player in power politics

Deepender Deswal

Hisar, July 25

It has been a bumpy ride in politics for the Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP) MLA from Sirsa and former Minister of State for Home in Haryana, Gopal Kanda, who was acquitted by a Delhi court in the Geetika Sharma suicide case today.

Shocked, says Geetika’s brother

• After living through an “emotional turmoil” for 11 years, air hostess Geetika Sharma’s family is shattered by the Delhi court verdict aquitting Gopal Goyal Kanda in the case of abetment to her suicide, her brother Ankit Sharma said on Tuesday.
• “My father, who is aged 66, is in a state of shock after the verdict,” said Ankit, adding that they do not have the means to fight the case and urged the state to file an appeal against the verdict.
• “It has been 11 years of emotional turmoil for us. It has been a long fight all these years, and it has come to this. We are scared for our lives now. It is a life-threatening situation for us,” Ankit said. PTI

Kanda, 58, a resident of Gali Khazanchian wali located in ward number 15 in Sirsa town, opened a radio repair shop in mid-1990s in Sirsa town to earn a living. Later, he ran a shoe shop in the town. However, he wanted to make it big in life and headed to Gurugram when it was emerging as the “millennium city” and started dabbling in real estate there.

Simultaneously, he came close to the Chautalas as the INLD came to power in 1999. His close aides in Sirsa said there was no stopping Kanda, as his commercial success got political support.

Kanda even weighed the then Chief Minister and INLD supremo Om Prakash Chautala with bundles of currency notes at a function in Bhagat Singh Chowk in Sirsa in 2004. After success in various businesses, he wanted to make a debut in politics. He wanted to get rid of his role as a “sidekick” of Chautalas, and, thus, started distancing himself from them after the INLD went out of power in 2005.

Kanda launched an airlines from Gurugram in 2008 in the name of his father Muralidhar Lakh Ram (MLDR), besides running several businesses.

His political aspirations were fulfilled when he won from the Sirsa Assembly as an Independent candidate in his maiden attempt. In a twist of fate, Kanda got the coveted state Home ministry in exchange for his support to form the government after 2009 as the Congress, which won 40 seats, fell short of majority.

This was an opportunity for him to emerge as a big corporate as well as a wheeler-dealer in the corridors of power in Haryana, but the incident of suicide by one of her employees, Geetika Sharma, on August 5, 2012, came as a setback to him. He had to resign as minister and also remained in prison for nearly 18 months.

Later, he floated his HLP party, but lost the next Assembly election in 2014 from Sirsa.