Ellenabad Bypoll: It’s do-or-die fight for Cong candidate Pawan Beniwal

Deepender Deswal

Tribune News Service

Hisar, October 17

It seems to be a do-or-die election for Congress candidate Pawan Beniwal who is trying his luck for the third time in a row in the Ellenabad Assembly segment.

Beniwal had contested the previous two polls on BJP ticket but ended up second on both occasions.

However, when INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala resigned from the Assembly in January, necessitating the byelection, Beniwal too resigned from the primary membership of the BJP citing his support to the farmers’ agitation on April 21.

After staying quiet for some time, he joined the Congress on September 13 in the presence of the state president of the Congress Kumari Selja at the AICC headquarters.

“Apparently, the byelection was on his mind when he decided to ditch the BJP and join the Congress. He took a big political gamble in his bid to see himself in the Haryana Assembly,” said a political observer indicating that the prevailing scenario in Ellenabad bypoll during the campaign had proved that such decisions are always fraught with risk.

A sarpanch of a prominent village in Ellenabad segment stated, “On paper, Pawan Beniwal seems to be a strong candidate. But his win depends on the tone and tenor of his uncle and arch-rival Bharat Singh Beniwal. If both join hands, they will form a formidable political force. Coupled with the Congress’ traditional vote bank and mobilisation of supporters by former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and the state Congress president Kumari Selja, their joining of hands can be a winning formula for him,” he stated, adding that this calculation is only on paper. “In reality, internal conflicts in the party are undermining his poll prospects,” he maintained.

Another resident of Raipur village in Nathusari Chopta block in Subhash Chander segment stated that after Bharat Beniwal joined the campaign, electioneering has picked up for the Congress candidate.

Selja, who has been MP from Sirsa, and her father Dalbir Singh, who had represented the constituency in Parliament four times, have a strong support base in the segment.