‘Stay grounded, don’t fly’: Khattar reacts to Kanda’s claims

There is an uproar over the statement made by former Sirsa MLA and Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP) chief Gopal Kanda, claiming that he supported the INLD in the Rania Assembly election at the request of former CM and Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

Addressing the media in Panipat on Friday evening, Khattar responded, “Everyone should think while staying grounded, and not fly in the air.”

Meanwhile, talking to the media in Chandigarh on Saturday, Arjun Chautala, MLA from Rania and son of INLD president Abhay Chautala, said he won the election because of the people of Rania, his family’s decades-old relationship with them, and their trust in INLD’s ideology. He said if Kanda or Khattar were under any illusion, he challenged them to return to the election field again. The people would clear their misconception, he said.

Taking a dig at Kanda, Arjun said he was an industrialist, and when the INLD was in power, he was with the INLD. “When the Congress came to power, he joined the Congress. Now, when the BJP is in power, he is calling the BJP his everything. Such people try to take advantage of the situation," he claimed.

If Kanda and his brother Gobind were so strong, why did they need the INLD in the Assembly elections, he asked. Kanda knew that on Abhay Chautala’s request, he could get 30,000-35,000 votes from the Sirsa area. So, he joined hands with the INLD, he stated.

Meanwhile, offering advice to Congress leader Sarvmitra Kamboj, Arjun said even though he contested the election from Rania, he should remember that he got votes in the name of the Congress, and not because he had any personal base there.

In the 2024 Assembly elections, the INLD, BSP, and HLP contested as allies in Sirsa district. However, the alliance faced major setbacks: INLD’s Abhay Chautala lost his stronghold Ellenabad to Congress’s Bharat Singh Beniwal, and Gopal Kanda (HLP) lost Sirsa to Congress’s Gokul Setia. The Congress won Kalanwali through Shishpal Keharwala. Only two INLD leaders — Arjun Chautala (Rania) and Aditya Chautala (Dabwali) — secured victories.

Haryana Tribune