Guhla Assembly segment to witness close fight

Tribune News Service

Kaithal, September 1

The Guhla Assembly segment, a reserved seat for the SC category and one of the four constituencies in Kaithal district, is likely to witness an intense and close battle in the upcoming elections. Over the years, the segment has recorded interesting and close contests and major political parties have won the seat, making it a crucial battleground.

The Congress, Janata Party, Lok Dal and INLD won the seat twice each, while the BJP and the JJP won it one time each, the data said.

Although the political parties are yet to announce their candidates, the anticipation of an interesting competition is high among the electorate. Sitting MLA Ishwar Singh, who was elected on the JJP ticket in 2019, recently resigned and joined the Congress. His family is actively seeking a Congress ticket, with his son Randhir, a former chairman of the Haryana Dairy Development Cooperative Federation Limited, and his daughter-in-law Rakha Rani, chairperson of Cheeka Municipal Committee, among the ticket aspirants. Other Congress ticket aspirants include former MLAs Dilu Ram Bazigar, Phool Singh, Butta Singh, Ram Bhaj as well as party leaders Davinder Hans, Naresh Kumar and others, said sources in the Congress.

On the BJP side, former MLA Kulwant Ram Bazigar is among others in the race for the party’s ticket, while Krishan Kumar is among the ticket aspirants from the JJP.

The Guhla constituency, which encompasses nearly 120 villages, has a rich electoral history. It was established in 1977, having previously been part of the Kaithal Assembly segment. Ishwar Singh, the current MLA, initially won this seat in 1977 on a Janata Party ticket.

The present MLA Ishwar Singh had won this seat in 1977, too. At that time he had won on the ticket of the Janata Party, while in 1982, Dilu Ram won the seat on the ticket of the Lok Dal. In 1987, the Lok Dal again won the seat as its candidate Buta Singh secured victory. In 1991, the Janata Party again came into power after a gap of 14 years as its candidate Amar Singh had won the seat.

In 1996, the Congress won the seat for the first time as its candidate Dilu Ram won the seat. Amar Singh again won the seat in 2000 and this time on the ticket of the Indian National Lok Dal. In 2005, Congress candidate Dillu Ram again secured the victory. In 2009, the INLD won the seat as its candidate Phool Singh secured victory. The BJP had won the seat for the first time in 2014 as its candidate Kulwant Ram Bazigar won the seat. Ishwar Singh won the seat for the JJP in 2019.

Political experts predict an interesting contest. “The Guhla Assembly segment will see an interesting battle like previous elections. Actual game will start after the declaration of candidates’ name, but selection of the candidates for all parties will play a crucial role as Independent candidates may spoil the perspective of major political parties. Caste combination is also a major factor,” said Dr Ashok Kumar Atri, associate professor of Political Science, RKSD College, Kaithal.