Vij, Shah kin face to face in Panipat after 52 years

The electoral battlefield is ready after filing of the nomination papers by the candidates. After 52 years, history is repeating itself at the Panipat City Assembly seat as Vij and Shah families are ready to face each other.The BJP has fielded sitting MLA Pramod Vij in the electoral fray for the second time, while the Congress has fielded Varidner Kumar Shah, aka Bulle Shah, this time. Shah is also in the electoral fray for the second time, but he contested unsuccessfully in 2014 polls, when BJP’s Rohita Rewri defeated Shah by a big margin of 53,721 votes. Rohita Rewri had filed her nomination as an Independent candidate after leaving the Congress party on the last day of the nomination from the Panipat Urban seat.

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The people in Panipat city witnessed the first election in 1967 and Fateh Chand Vij, who was the father of sitting MLA Pramod Vij, was elected the first MLA of the Panipat Assembly constituency (now Panipat City). After that, Hukumat Rai Shah, father of Varinder Kumar Shah, was elected MLA in 1972 by defeating Fateh Chand Vij in 1972.

Fateh Chand Vij was again elected MLA from the seat in 1968, 1977 and in 1982 but Shah family members were not in the electoral fray.

After Hukumat Rai Shah, his elder son Balbir Pal Shah took reins of politics in his hand and was elected MLA from Panipat five times – 1987, 1991, 2000, 2005 and in 2009 — but no member of the Vij family was in the electoral fray.

In 2014, the Congress trusted Varinder Kumar Shah, aka Bulle Shah, but his opponent from the BJP was Rohita Rewri, who won the elections. In 2019, Bulle Shah refused to contest the elections and the Congress fielded Sanjay Aggarwal from the seat. The BJP fielded Pramod Vij from the seat who won the elections by 39,545 votes.

“Both BJP’s Vij and Congress’ Bulle Shah, who have cordial relations with each other, would contest election against each other this time and the city would witness an interesting election,” a political pundit said.

With another player, former MLA Rohita Rewri, in the electoral fray, it may disturb the political mathematics for both players in these elections, said a political expert.