Karnal turns hot seat with parties fielding key players

Tribune News Service

Parveen Arora

Karnal, April 29

As the Lok Sabha elections are drawing near, Karnal has emerged as the hotly contested battleground, with political heavyweights contesting for supremacy. The ruling BJP has thrown its weight behind former Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, while the Congress pins its hopes on the youthful energy of Divyanshu Budhiraja, the state president of the Youth Congress.

Adding a layer of complexity to the electoral fray, Maratha Virender Verma, president of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-Sharad Pawar) in the state, has announced his candidacy with the backing of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD). Meanwhile, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has entered the competition with its candidate, Inderjeet (Navjot) Jalmana.

JJP has fielded Devender Singh Kadyan (45), the son of former Haryana Assembly Speaker and IFFCO chairman Satbir Singh Kadian. Additionally, some Independent candidates are expected to join the race, further intensifying the contest.

Political observers are keenly watching the contest as both Khattar and Budhiraja hail from the Arora-Punjabi community, which has a sizable population in the constituency, while Maratha Virender Verma belongs to the Ror community, which has a significant number in the constituency. Inderjeet Singh belongs to the Sikh community.

The political observers said that the contest at Karnal seat was likely to be interesting, with each candidate bringing their strengths and strategies to the fore. Manohar Lal carries with him the legacy of his tenure as the Chief Minister and the party’s good organisational structure, who are working at the grassroots level, while Budhiraja has a long experience of political struggle from the student union president to Youth Congress president. Although the Congress does not have organisational structure in the district and block level, Budhiraja is riding high on reportedly anti-incumbency of the BJP government in the state.

Maratha Virender Verma’s entry has given a new dimension to the electoral battle as he has a sizeable number of dedicated and loyal workers and has support of the INLD.

Political experts say the BSP also has a significant number of voters which will help party’s candidate Inderjeet.

It will be Devender Singh Kadyan second election as he had contested the Panipat Rural Assembly seat in 2019 on a JJP ticket, securing 47,800 votes. Hailing from Sewah village in Panipat and belonging to the Jat community which has a significant number.

“The contest for the Karnal seat is not merely a battle of political parties, but a reflection of the broader political future of these parties as the Assembly elections are expected to held after four months,” said DrKushal Pal, a political observer, and principal of Indira Gandhi National College, Ladwa.

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