If things work out, I can ensure BJP’s hattrick in Haryana: Sirsa MLA Gopal Kanda

Excerpts:

Q. What role do you see for your party in the current political scenario in Haryana and the 2024 general elections?

Gopal Kanda: My party HLP is in alliance with the BJP and we are a part of the NDA. Now we are the only party in Haryana that is a part of the NDA. I am quite active at the ground level in Sirsa and doing everything to help the BJP candidate here. I was given this task by our former CM Manohar Lal Khattar just before the elections.

Q. A former Congress leader is taking on a Congress candidate in Sirsa, don’t you think you hold the key to deciding who will win?

Kanda: Yes, the BJP candidate Ashok Tanwar has come from the Congress like many others and he is in the fray against Kumari Shelja of the Congress. Being an NDA ally, our responsibility is to ensure his win. We are connected with the people here and have fought elections from adjoining assembly seats like Kalanwali, Ratia, and Rania. My younger brother Gobind fought a by-election from Ellenabad on a BJP ticket and managed to get 60,000 votes during the peak of the farmer’s protest. We know this area very well and will make sure the BJP candidate wins with the biggest margin from here.

Pictures of Kanda brothers’ public meets at their party office in Sirsa. (Express Photo/Parveen K Dogra)

Q. Don’t you dream of reaching the Parliament from this region?

Kanda: I have not shared my ambition with the BJP leadership so far. Since Sirsa is a reserved seat, I have not asked for any other seat as well. Had they offered us any seat, we would have been fully ready to contest from anywhere. Our support and alliance with the BJP is unconditional.

Q. Last time you played a key role in defeating the BJP, now you are supporting the same party. What’s the thought behind it?

Kanda: We are from the RSS background. My father Muralidhar Kanda was one of the founders of the RSS in India. He joined the organisation in 1926 and came under the RSS flag in 1978. He fought the first General Election in Independent India in 1952 from the Sirsa-Dabwali seat with the Jana Sangh symbol of a diya (lamp). So, we are genuinely RSS people and when we were denied tickets by the BJP in 2009 and 2014, we floated our party and contested elections and won from Sirsa.

Q. You are the lone MLA of your party in Haryana and assembly elections are just a few months away, will you contest in alliance with the BJP?

Kanda: We have not discussed this as of now. I would suggest the BJP should support us in the Assembly elections. The BJP has not won from Sirsa’s five assembly seats for over 25 years now and I would suggest they should support us on 10-12 seats where our party candidates can win. This way, the BJP government can make its hattrick in the state and our party HLP can play the key role.

Q. Your opponents say that Gopal Kanda wins elections with money and muscle power, is that the case?

Kanda: I believe if elections were won with money and muscle power in this country, Modiji would never have won an election. Some Ambani or Adani would have become the prime minister of the country. You can’t buy public support with money. Look around and see these pictures of my public rallies (referring to pictures displayed at the HLP office) and look at the multitude of people with me. Also, look at the number of people in our party office right now, they have not been brought by money. They are connected with us by heart. Always remember, an Independent candidate can only win when he has the support base on the ground. Contesting as an Independent was not an easy task here around 2009 because of the terror of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and I took that risk just based on public support.

Gobind and Gopal Kanda have a hold on Sirsa and nearby constituencies in Haryana. (Express Photo/Parveen K Dogra)

Q. Is Gopal Kanda a full-time politician or a full-time businessman?

Kanda: I have not run any business since 2012. My family, my kids are into business. I am not a shareholder or hold any position anywhere. I do look after the family business sometimes but my sole aim is to serve the people. During the Covid-19 pandemic, we made a 150-bed hospital within 15 days for the service of people and we share a family bond with the locals here and that’s the mantra of our win from this area.

Q. Your party HLP is 10 years old, what’s your politics? Will you be merging with the BJP in the future?

Kanda: Our vision is clear. We are here to serve the ‘Gau aur Gareeb’ (cow and the poor). My party slogan is ‘Jan jan ka samman karenge, lokhit me kaam karenge’ (Will respect everyone, will work for people’s welfare). We have our businesses to make money, we are here to do public service. As far as our party is concerned, we are a part of the NDA and despite having zero MPs, they have included us as an Independent party. The HLP will work as an Independent party in the future as well, we will not merge with the BJP.

Q. If things don’t work out with the BJP, will your party contest independently in the upcoming Assembly elections?

Kanda: If that situation arises, the HLP will contest at least 15 seats in Haryana including Sirsa and Hisar.

Q. What has been your stand on farmers’ protest in Haryana and the way the state government dealt with it?

Kanda: I have cleared my stand in a speech in the Haryana Assembly where I said farmers are getting so many benefits from the current BJP government and farmers have never got anything in past regimes. We should understand that those who are protesting and showing resentment for the BJP are politically motivated people. They are staging the protests and a narrative is being built against the BJP government. My brother fought his election during the peak of the farmers’ protest and he got a record 60,000 votes as a BJP candidate. Had farmers been unhappy, he would not have gotten that much support.

Q. Even though you have been acquitted in a 2012 abetment to suicide case, how do you see a negative image still attached to you?

Kanda: The negative image has been created by the media. You people show what you want to show. Though the real truth came out now after my acquittal, my people already knew it. During all this duration I kept my smile intact. I took it as some wrongdoing of my previous birth, and now the court order clearly said that I was not in touch with her (Geetika Sharma, an employee in Kanda’s airline MDLR). During that case only, I fought elections and won which was a clear example that my people always knew the truth and supported me.