Keen contest on cards in Kalanaur constituency

Tribune News Service

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Rohtak, August 30

A keen contest is likely to take place in the Kalanaur (reserved) Assembly constituency of Rohtak district this time, which is represented by sitting Congress MLA Shakuntala Khatak.

Former mayor, ex-MLA vie for BJP ticket

• The race for the BJP ticket is also getting interesting. Former bureaucrat Amarjit Singh — who has served as the Officer on Special Duty to former Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar — is in fray for the BJP ticket from the constituency. Former Rohtak Mayor Renu Dabla, former Kalanaur MLA Sarita Narain and former Municipal Councillor Surajmal Kiloi are also vying for the BJP ticket from the Assembly segment.

Khatak — who was elected from Kalanaur three times in a row since 2009 — is most likely to get the Congress ticket in the forthcoming elections as well.

However, the number of applicants is huge this time, with as many as 55 aspirants having applied for the Congress ticket from the constituency.

The general opinion is that the Congress has bright chances of forming the government this time, which has led to a spurt in the number of applicants for party ticket. However, as per the ticket aspirants, there are other considerations as well.

“One of the major factors is that the sitting MLA comes from SC-A Block, while the number of voters belonging to the SC B-Block is substantially higher in the constituency,” said a local Congress leader.

Hence, several local leaders who belong to the SC B-Block are staking claim to the Congress ticket from the constituency reserved for the candidates from Scheduled Caste.

“The sitting MLA has been occupying the seat for last 15 years, but she has not been able to bring any worthwhile project to the constituency,” said Sonu Pilana, a Zila Parishad member, who is also a ticket aspirant from the Kalanaur area.

On the other hand, Kalanaur MLA Shakuntala Khatak refuted the allegations of lack of progress during her tenure. “I got Kalanaur upgraded from the status of a sub-tehsil to that of a tehsil. Construction of the bypass, Police Training College (PTC) at Sunaria, a senior secondary school and a new building of the local police station were also carried out during my tenure. We also built chaupals and community centres, upgraded several schools and got the damaged school buildings repaired,” the MLA added.

She stated that in a democratic set-up, anyone can apply for the party ticket and contest the election, but such baseless allegations should not be levelled.

On the other hand, the race for the BJP ticket is also getting interesting. Former bureaucrat Amarjit Singh, who has served as the Officer on Special Duty to former Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, is in the fray for the BJP ticket from the constituency.

Former Rohtak Mayor Renu Dabla, former Kalanaur MLA Sarita Narain and former Municipal Councillor Surajmal Kiloi are also vying for the BJP ticket from the Assembly segment.