BJP plays Punjabi card, fields Nikhil Madaan from Sonepat

The BJP ended speculation last evening after declaring its candidate for the Sonepat Assembly seat. By giving ticket to a young Punjabi face, mayor Nikhil Madaan, the BJP has played the Punjabi card.

Ever since Madaan joined the BJP in July, it was being speculated that he would be fielded from the Sonepat seat. However, the ticket announcement has led to resentment among many party leaders.

The Sonepat seat is considered to be Punjabi-dominated, but since 2009, non-Punjabi candidates have been elected. In 2009 and 2014, BJP candidate Kavita Jain was elected from Sonepat while in 2019, Congress candidate Surender Panwar was elected. BJP candidate Lalit Batra contested unsuccessfully in 2005.

In 1972, 1977 and 1982, Punjabi leader Devidas was elected MLA from the seat on the BJP ticket while other Punjabi leaders — Shyam Das Mukhija, Devraj Diwan and Anil Thakkar were elected in 1991, 1996 and 2000, and 2005, respectively, on the Congress ticket.

Political observers said it was not a surprising move as it was already a part of BJP’s strategy. Madaan was a new face from the Punjabi community, and Punjabi voters comprised the largest number there. Also, there was no anti-incumbency against him, they said.

Kavita Jain and her husband Rajiv Jain (former media adviser to the Chief Minister), who were in the race for the BJP ticket, called a meeting of their supporters on Thursday. Some BJP leaders, including BJP district vice-president Sanjeev Valecha and his wife Indu, BJP councillor and state secretary of BJP’s women cell, Mukesh Batra, Sanjay Thekedar and some others resigned from the party in the support of the Jains.

Similarly, in Kharkhoda, the BJP has fielded Pawan Kharkhoda, who contested unsuccessfully from the seat in 2019 on the JJP ticket. Pawan joined the BJP in June this year.

Kharkhoda is considered to be a bastion of former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda. It would be a challenge for him to wrest the seat from the Congress.

Despite internal opposition, the BJP fielded former MP Arvind Sharma — who recently contested unsuccessfully from the Rohtak Lok Sabha elections — from the Gohana Assembly constituency, which is Jat-dominated and considered to be a stronghold of Hooda. The BJP has never won from here. The local BJP leaders had opposed the Arvind Sharma’s candidature from Gohana.