ASSEMBLY POLL 2024: Assandh set for multi-corner contest

The Assandh Assembly segment is all set to witness a multi-corner contest, similar to what it has experienced in the past. The Congress has fielded former MLA Shamsher Singh Gogi, while the BJP has given the ticket to district president Yogendra Rana. The INLD-BSP alliance has expressed its faith in Gopal Singh Rana and AAP has fielded Amandeep Singh. The entry of Independent candidate and former MLA Zile Ram Sharma, who has recently quit the BJP, has further intensified the race.

Assandh holds a unique place in the electoral history. In the 2009 elections, the candidates, including the winner, could not save their security deposit, as no one secured the minimum one-sixth of the total votes required to retain it. Since 1977, Assandh has held 10 elections, with Janata Party, Lok Dal, and the Congress winning twice each, while the Samta Party, Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC), BJP, and INLD have won one each.

In the 2019 election, Gogi, a Congress candidate, won by a narrow margin of 1,703 votes, securing 32,114 votes. His closest rival, BSP’s Narender Singh, garnered 30,411 votes, while BJP’s Bakshish Singh Virk followed closely with 28,519 votes. Independent candidate Zile Ram Sharma managed to attract 25,137 votes.

This time too, Gogi and Zile Ram Sharma are back in the fray after five years. Narender Singh, who contested on a BSP ticket in the last Assembly elections and secured second place, is not contesting this time, but his son Gopal Singh Rana is contesting on the BSP-INLD ticket. It will be the first election for BJP candidate Yogendra Rana. All candidates are making all out efforts to secure victory, emphasising their role in driving development in the constituency.

“Even as an opposition MLA, I tried my best to develop the segment. I brought several projects, including the upgrading of the CHC to a subdivisional hospital. The project for the new building has already been approved and the budget has been sanctioned. I have always raised the voice of the people of my constituency in the Haryana Assembly. I will continue to do so and develop the segment,” said Shamsher Singh Gogi.

Yogendra Rana, the BJP candidate, highlighted the work done by the BJP government in the area. “Our government has initiated several development projects in the segment. People want to re-elect our government to ensure that this pace of development continues,” said Rana.

Zile Ram Sharma, who served as MLA in 2009, also highlighted his commitment to development. “The people of Assandh elected me in 2009, and I developed the constituency in every way possible. If elected again, I will ensure good governance and overall development,” he said.

Interesting fight

The Congress has fielded former MLA Shamsher Singh Gogi, while the BJP has given the ticket to district president Yogendra Rana. The INLD-BSP alliance has expressed its faith in Gopal Singh Rana and AAP has fielded Amandeep Singh