Cliffhanger in Ladwa as Cong’s Mewa Singh gives tough fight to Nayab Singh Saini

It’s no cakewalk for caretaker CM Nayab Singh Saini, who is locked in a tough electoral battle with Congress’ outgoing MLA Mewa Singh in the Ladwa Assembly segment of Kurukshetra district.

Political observers feel Saini’s electoral fortunes hinge on the performance of “vote-cutter” Sapna Barshami of the INLD-BSP, who may add a twist to the otherwise direct BJP-Congress fight.

Several lingering issues are set to make a dent in the BJP’s vote share. These included legal MSP guarantee, unemployment, drug addiction and illegal immigration. The lack of development, especially non-construction of a bypass in Ladwa to decongest traffic, also weighs heavy on the people’s minds.

“Saini has been the CM for over six months. He was Kurukshetra MP during 2019-24 and yet development eluded Ladwa. It’s not going to be a cakewalk for him as Mewa Singh will give him a tough fight,” said Ram Niwas, a resident of Dyagla vilkage in Ladwa. “Though the BJP is facing anti-incumbency in the state, the same is true for outgoing Ladwa MLA Mewa Singh. So, it’s anybody’s game here,” said Jaimal Singh, a Babain resident. Saying that Ladwa would witness one of the toughest contests in Haryana, political analyst Kushal Pal opined caste dynamics as witnessed in 2014 and 2019 were missing in these elections.

Ladwa is a Jat-dominated Assembly segment with a sizeable presence of Dalits and OBCs, including Sainis. The BJP is banking on the OBC votes, while hoping that the Jat votes would be divided between two major Jat candidates — Mewa Singh and Sapna.

While campaigning, Mewa Singh often talked about his “local connection”, saying he was available to his voters 24x7. “While I have always stood by my voters, Saini remained inaccessible to the Ladwa residents even as he was their MP and later the CM,” Mewa Singh said.

Saini, however, exuded confidence and claimed the people of Ladwa had been campaigning on his behalf so that he could tour the state. Besides, in his absence, his wife Suman Saini had been holding the fort.

It may be recalled that Sher Singh Barshami, a close confidant of former CM Om Prakash Chautala, became the first Ladwa MLA in 2009 after the segment was carved out in 2007. After Barshami was jailed in the JBT recruitment scam along with Chautala, his wife Bachan Kaur contested the 2014 election, but lost to BJP’s Pawan Saini by a mere 2,922 votes.

Barshami’s daughter-in-law Sapna, with a respectable 15,513 votes, was placed third in the 2019 elections, which Mewa Singh won by 12,637 against BJP’s Pawan Saini.

The BJP is now hoping that Sapna might cut into Congress’ votes, especially of Jats and Dalits. Another positive for the BJP is that the party had won from the Ladwa segment of Kurukshetra LS seat by polling 47.14% votes in the recent parliamentary poll.

INLD-BSP nominee may cut Cong votes

• Issues like unemployment, drug addiction, lack of development set to make a dent in BJP’s vote share
• Analysts opine caste dynamics as witnessed in 2014 and 2019 are missing in these elections
• But say Nayab Saini’s fate depends on performance of ‘vote-cutter’ Sapna Barshami of INLD-BSP