Keen multi-cornered contest on the cards in Ladwa constituency
A keen multi-cornered contest is expected in the Ladwa Assembly segment of Kurukshetra this time. Congress MLA Mewa Singh represents the seat. While the INLD has fielded former MLA Sher Singh Barshami, there are reports that the BJP may field Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini from Ladwa. The JJP-ASP alliance may field JJP’s Kurukshetra senior vice-president Ranjeet Nain from the seat.
The Ladwa constituency was carved out of the Thanesar constituency of Kururkshetra and it witnessed the first election in 2009. Barshami had won the seat in the 2009 elections but after his conviction in the JBT scam along with former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala and Ajay Chautala, his wife Bachan Kaur unsuccessfully contested the 2014 elections and later his daughter-in-law tasted defeat in 2019. The BJP had won the seat in the 2014 elections and the Congress in 2019. The Barshami family has been the face of the INLD in Ladwa.
In the recent Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had performed well in Ladwa as BJP’s Naveen Jindal got 66,045 votes while INDIA bloc candidate Sushli Gupta bagged 57,295 votes. Political observer and principal of IGN College, Ladwa, Kushal Pal, says, “Unlike many other Assembly segments where the BJP and the Congress are in a direct fight, the Ladwa constituency is expected to witness a multi-cornered contest. For the regional parties, the reputation of the candidates will play a crucial role. The sitting MLA belongs to the Congress while INLD’s Barshami has a strong hold in the constituency. If the BJP fields Nayab Saini from Ladwa, it will become one of the hot seats in the Assembly elections to watch. Caste equations will also play a major role in the elections here.”
Meanwhile, Ladwa MLA Mewa Singh said, “In a democracy, every person has the right to contest elections. The people of Ladwa are waiting for the announcement of the BJP’s list of candidates. If Nayab Saini contests from the seat, people will ask him what he has done for Ladwa during his tenure as Kurukshetra MP and then as Chief Minister. The issue of the Ladwa bypass, Kurukshetra-Yamunanagar road expansion to four lanes and the Dadupur Nalvi canal project are some of the major issues in Ladwa and we will resolve these after forming government in Haryana.
“People know that the INLD is a B team of the BJP and its only objective is to cut the votes of the Congress to help the ruling party. INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala had contested the Lok Sabha election from Kurukshetra but suffered a miserable defeat. The INLD will get the same result in the forthcoming Assembly elections, too. People from all sections of society are joining the Congress. We are confident that the people of Haryana will vote for the Congress and we will form government under the leadership of former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda,” he added.
