Sonepat mayoral bypoll: BJP banks on experience, Cong plays Punjabi card

Just five months after the last election, the political landscape in Sonepat is once again buzzing with activity as the stage is set for the crucial mayoral bypoll. Major political parties have announced their candidates, setting the stage for an intriguing contest between the BJP and the Congress.

Advertisement

Keeping social engineering at the forefront of its strategy, the ruling BJP has fielded seasoned politician Rajiv Jain, a former media adviser to the Chief Minister. Meanwhile, the Congress has played the Punjabi card by nominating Kamal Diwan, son of two-time former MLA Dev Raj Diwan.

Adding another dimension to the contest, the AAP has put forward Kamlesh Saini, an OBC candidate who previously contested the October Assembly elections but managed to secure only 116 votes.

The mayoral seat fell vacant after Nikhil Madaan, the first elected mayor of Sonepat, won the Assembly elections on a BJP ticket. On Friday night, the BJP named Rajiv Jain, a member of the Vaishya community, as its candidate. Jain has a long political career — his wife, Kavita Jain, served as Urban Local Bodies Minister from 2014 to 2019 in the first BJP government.

Jain had previously sought a BJP ticket for the 2024 Assembly elections, but the party chose Nikhil Madaan instead. In protest, Jain filed his nomination as an Independent candidate but later withdrew it after an intervention by Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, who personally visited him to pacify the situation.

Expressing gratitude to the party leadership, Rajiv Jain said, “My priority is to complete several pending projects, including the canal water project, sewage project, the covering of Drain No. 6 and the construction of new power houses. Additionally, I will focus on improving cleanliness and addressing streetlight issues in the city.”

On Saturday, the Congress announced Kamal Diwan as its mayoral candidate, banking on Sonepat’s significant Punjabi voter base. Diwan, who has been active in city politics for a long time, carries the legacy of his father, Dev Raj Diwan, who was elected as an MLA from Sonepat in 1996 and 2000.

Believing that the Punjabi-dominated electorate could work in its favour, the Congress hopes Diwan will create an upset in the by-election.

Both Rajiv Jain (BJP) and Kamal Diwan (Congress) are set to file their nominations on Monday, marking the beginning of what promises to be a closely contested mayoral battle in Sonepat.