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Updated October 7th, 2021 at 11:31 IST

BJP fields controversial MLA Gopal Kanda's brother in Haryana by-election against Chautala

On Thursday, controversial MLA Gopal Kanda's brother Govind Kanda was named as BJP's candidate in the by-election to the Ellenabad Assembly seat in Haryana. 

Reported by: Akhil Oka
Haryana, Gopal Kanda
Image: PTI | Image:self
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On Thursday, controversial MLA Gopal Kanda's brother Govind Kanda was named as BJP's candidate in the by-election to the Ellenabad Assembly seat in Haryana. Govind Kanda, who joined the saffron party on October 3 in the presence of ex-MLA Ramchander Kamboj and Haryana BJP secretary Surender Arya, unsuccessfully contested from Rania in the 2014 and 2019 Assembly polls on a Haryana Lokhit Party ticket. The Ellenabad bypoll was necessitated by INLD Secretary General Abhay Singh Chautala's resignation over the farm laws.

He is INLD supremo Om Prakash Chautala's son and the uncle of Haryana Deputy CM Dushyant Chautala. In the previous Assembly election, Abhay Chautala won 57,055 votes as compared to his nearest rival Pawan Beniwal of BJP who could secure 45,133 votes. While the constituency will go to the polls on October 30, the counting of votes is scheduled for November 2. 

The controversy surrounding Gopal Kanda

Once the owner of a shoe shop, Gopal Kanda dabbled in several businesses including real estate and aviation. While he was initially associated with the INLD, he successfully contested as an Independent in the 2009 Haryana Assembly polls after being denied a ticket by the party. After supporting the Congress party to form the government, he became a Minister in the Bhupinder Singh Hood-led Cabinet. However, he was accused of abetting the suicide of Geetika Sharma, a young air hostess who worked for his now-defunct aviation company MDLR Airlines in 2012.

6 months after this incident, Sharma's mother too committed suicide and squarely blamed Kanda. After spending a year and a half in jail. he was granted bail by the Delhi High Court in March 2014 and the rape charge against him was dropped. He also faces multiple cases of alleged fraud which are currently under investigation. Kanda again gained national traction after he declared unconditional support to BJP for forming a government in Haryana in October 2019.

This was in the wake of the saffron party falling just a few seats short of the halfway mark in the 90-member state Assembly. While BJP won 40 seats, Congress and Jannayak Janata Party won 31 and 10 seats each. Accusing BJP of doublespeak, Congress communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala said, "I think you should look at the statements made by Narendra Modi and Amit Shah when Gopal Kanda was a minister in Haryana when we forced him to resign after registration of a case and also removed him from ministership". After considerable outrage, ex-Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad made it clear on October 26, 2019, that his party will not take the HLP chief's support. 

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Published October 7th, 2021 at 11:31 IST

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