Panipat celebrates VIP status with two ministerial berths in Saini’s Cabinet 2.0

With the swearing-in ceremony concluded at Panchkula on Thursday, Panipat district has received a VIP designation with two ministerial berths in Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini’s Cabinet 2.0 .

Two MLAs, Krishan Lal Panwar from Israna constituency and Mahipal Dhanda from Panipat Rural constituency, were sworn in as Cabinet Ministers.

Krishan Lal Panwar, a six-time MLA who emerged victorious from Israna (reserved) constituency, has secured his position as a Cabinet Minister in the BJP government for the second time. During the first term of the BJP government under then Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Panwar served as the Transport and Jail Minister.

Panwar, who was previously employed at the Panipat Thermal Power Station (PTPS), entered politics and represented the Assandh constituency three times — in 1991 on the Janta Party ticket, in 1996 on the Samta Party ticket, and in 2000 on the INLD ticket. After the delimitation, he won the Israna constituency in 2009 on the INLD ticket.

In 2014, he switched to the BJP, winning the MLA seat from Israna again and receiving a Cabinet portfolio in Khattar’s government. Though he lost the 2019 election, the BJP appointed him to the Rajya Sabha. In 2024, the party fielded him again, and he won with a margin of 13,895 votes. Celebrations erupted in Madlauda on Thursday as Panwar was sworn in as a Cabinet Minister in Saini’s government.

Mahipal Dhanda, born on September 16, 1974, is a resident of Kavi village in the Panipat district. He joined the RSS in 1987 and entered student politics through the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), becoming sah-mantri in 1997.

Following his student life, Dhanda became active in BJP politics, serving as district vice-president in 2004 and district general secretary in 2006. He was state president of the Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha (BJYM) in 2009 and the state president of the BJP’s kisan cell in 2012.

Dhanda first contested from the Panipat Rural Assembly in 2014, winning by a margin of 36,132 votes against Independent candidate Dhara Singh Rawal with 62,074 votes. The BJP re-nominated him in the 2019 Assembly elections, where he again won by defeating JJP candidate Devender Singh Kadyan by 21,961 votes. This time, he secured victory with an impressive margin of 50,208 votes.

Coming from a farmer family, Dhanda owns family agricultural land and operates a hatchery/feed mill business. His two brothers, Harpal and Ranpal Dhanda, manage the family business. Supporters gathered at Dhanda’s residence in Chandigarh to celebrate the moment and congratulate his family members.