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Tag: Gobind Kanda

  • Ellenabad bypoll: INLD leader Abhay Chautala’s lead thins over BJP’s Gobind Kanda

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: INLD secretary general Abhay Singh Chautala’s lead thinned over his nearest rival Gobind Kanda of the BJP in the Ellenabad assembly constituency in Haryana, according to latest trends for bypolls.

    Counting of votes for the October 30 bypoll to the seat is in progress.

    While Chautala maintained a consistent lead during the first seven rounds of counting, the margin dropped from 8,180 votes to 2,985 in the subsequent rounds.

    There are 16 rounds of counting of votes.

    The bypoll was necessitated after Chautala in January resigned as the MLA from the seat in protest against three central farm laws and to stand in solidarity with the farmers who are protesting against these legislations since the past one year.

    The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) candidate is leading over Gobind Kanda by a margin of 2,985 votes, according to trends available at 1 pm.

    While BJP-JJP combine candidate Gobind Kanda is giving a fight to Chautala, opposition Congress’ candidate Pawan Beniwal is trailing at third spot.

    Out of the votes counted so far, Chautala has secured 40,633, Kanda 37,648 and Beniwal has got 14,951 votes.

    While there are 19 candidates in the fray, most of whom are Independents, the main contest is between Chautala, Beniwal and JJP-backed BJP candidate Gobind Kanda.

    Over 81 per cent of polling was recorded for the bypoll.

    Gobind Kanda, the brother of Haryana Lokhit Party chief and legislator Gopal Kanda, joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) last month.

    Gopal Kanda, the MLA from Sirsa, has extended support to the BJP-JJP government.

    Beniwal, who had unsuccessfully contested the previous assembly polls against Chautala, recently switched over from the BJP to the Congress.

    Abhay Chautala, the younger son of INLD president and former chief minister Om Prakash Chautala, had won the Rori assembly bypoll in Sirsa district in 2000.

    Ellenabad, a predominantly rural constituency, has been a traditional stronghold for the Chautala clan.

    Abhay Chautala won the 2010 bypoll from Ellenabad, when Om Prakash Chautala vacated the seat to retain the Uchana seat in Jind district — the other constituency from which he had contested the election in 2009 and won.

    Abhay Chautala retained the Ellenabad seat in 2014 too.

    He again won from Ellenabad in the 2019 assembly polls, when he was the lone INLD MLA to enter the House.

    The win in the bypoll was crucial for the INLD otherwise the party would have had no MLA to represent in the state assembly.

  • Ellenabad bypolls: INLD’s Abhay Chautala eyeing hat-trick

    By PTI

    SIRSA: The bypoll to the Ellenabad Assembly constituency in Haryana’s Sirsa district on Saturday is all set to witness a triangular contest, with opposition INLD’s Abhay Singh Chautala, whose resignation over the farm laws issue necessitated the election, eyeing another win.

    The bypoll will be held on October 30 and the counting will take place on November 2.

    Gobind Kanda, brother of Haryana Lokhit Party chief and legislator Gopal Kanda, had joined the BJP recently and had been fielded by the BJP-JJP combine.

    Pawan Beniwal, who had unsuccessfully contested the previous assembly poll against Abhay Chautala, recently switched over from the BJP to the Congress.

    He is in the fray as candidate of the main opposition party.

    Abhay Chautala’s resignation in January over the farm laws issue had necessitated the bypolls to the rural constituency falling in Sirsa district.

    Over 1.85 lakh voters which includes over 98,000 men and 86,000 women, are eligible to cast their votes.

    The electioneering for the Ellenabad Assembly seat bypoll ended on Wednesday evening with the three central agriculture laws emerging key issue in the election.

    Although a total of 19 candidates, mostly independents are in the fray, Abhay Chautala, Beniwal and Gobind Kanda are being considered as key candidates.

    A major part of the Ellenabad Assembly constituency is rural with people mostly relying on agriculture.

    The elections for the Ellenabad Assembly seat have been held 14 times in which only the candidates of the party led by late Devi Lal were victorious.

    However, things are a bit different this time as many members of the Chautala family are part of the BJP-JJP coalition government.

    During the campaigning, Abhay Chautala’s elder brother and JJP chief Ajay Singh Chautala, the latter’s son and Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala, targeted the INLD leader holding him responsible for the party’s decline.

    Power Minister Ranjit Singh Chautala, who is an Independent MLA, also campaigned against Abhay Chautala and in favour of the BJP candidate Gobind Kanda.

    The Congress and BJP have targeted Abhay Chautala, alleging that he had thrust the election on people of Ellenabad.

    Tight security arrangements have been made for the bypolls with deployment of 30 companies of central security force, five companies of the Rapid Action Force and Haryana Police.

    One company comprises around 120 personnel.

    Abhay Chautala is eyeing a hat-trick as he will be contesting his third bypoll.

    Earlier, he had won the Rori Assembly bypoll in Sirsa district in 2000 and the 2010 bypoll from Ellenabad when INLD chief O P Chautala had vacated the seat as he decided to retain Uchana seat in Jind district, the other seat from which he had contested in 2009 and won.

    In the 2010 bypolls to Ellenabad, Abhay Chautala won the seat and retained it in 2014 too.

    He again won Ellenabad in 2019 assembly polls when he was the lone INLD MLA to enter the Assembly.

    Winning the Saturday’s bypoll is crucial for Abhay Chautala as a loss will deal a body blow to the INLD, which in recent years is reeling under series of electoral setbacks.

    While the farmers’ agitation against the central farm laws has emerged as the biggest factor in this bypoll, some factors like shortage of irrigation facilities in few villages and waterlogging problem in some segments are also likely to play a role in the bypoll.

    This is the second bypoll within a year which Haryana faces.

    In November last year, main opposition Congress had retained the Baroda assembly seat after its candidate Indu Raj Narwal defeated BJP nominee and Olympian wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt.

    The Baroda seat in Sonipat district had fallen vacant after the demise of Congress MLA Sri Krishan Hooda.