Haryana: INLD joins hands with Kanda after ending 15 years old feud

Haryana: The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and the Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP) have forged an alliance in Sirsa, ending a 15-year-old feud between the Chautala family and Gopal Kanda. The alliance was officially sealed on the last day of nominations, surprising many. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had earlier considered an alliance with Kanda but decided to field its own candidate instead. Following the BJP’s decision, discussions between the INLD and HLP progressed rapidly and culminated in a formal alliance. Senior INLD leader Abhay Chautala met Gopal Kanda at his Sirsa residence on Thursday to announce the alliance. Under the agreement, Kanda, a two-time MLA from Sirsa, will contest the seat representing the newly-formed alliance.

Earlier, Kanda was in talks with the BJP for a possible partnership. When those talks failed, he decided to contest independently, making the sudden alliance with the INLD a surprising turn of events. According to political experts, Abhay Chautala has joined hands with Gopal Kanda, as the Congress has fielded Bharat Singh Beniwal from Ellenabad, making the contest even tougher. Beniwal enjoys strong local support despite his previous defeat. BJP’s Amir Chand Mehta is less dangerous since he lost badly in 2009. Moreover, INLD’s support to Kanda will help him against Congress’ Gokul in Sirsa. Kanda, who faced a legal battle related to the Geetika Sharma suicide case and spent time in Tihar jail, has been acquitted of all charges by the court. This new partnership with the Chautala family has now given impetus to his political comeback.

Ahead of the 2019 Haryana assembly elections, the BJP had shown interest in allying with Gopal Kanda’s HLP. Senior party leaders, including Sunita Duggal, tried to forge this alliance, though eventually people like Uma Bharti opposed it, citing Kanda’s controversial legal history. At the time, Kanda had nine criminal cases pending against him, including charges of abetment to suicide and forgery, as revealed in his 2019 election affidavit. Despite his legal challenges, Kanda extended support to the BJP-led Haryana government after it failed to secure a majority in 2019. Chief Minister Nayab Saini and former CM Manohar Lal Khattar met Kanda frequently in the past few months and expressed their willingness to work together in future elections. However, internal opposition within the BJP prevented the formalisation of the alliance.