BJP unsure of taking support of Gopal Kanda in Haryana

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership is divided over taking support of Haryana Lokhit Party’s Gopal Kanda to form government in the state.

The voters of Haryana have given a hung verdict in the assembly election result which was announced on Thursday. Although BJP is the single largest party with 40 Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs), the party is short of at least 6 MLAs to form government.

With 7 independent MLAs who have won in the state, the party is reaching out to them to help BJP form government. “All independent candidates have extended their unconditional support to BJP. My father was associated with RSS since 1926, fought the first general elections of the country after independence on Jan Sangh ticket,” said Gopal Kanda, an MLA from Sirsa assembly seat and member of Haryana Lokhit Party.

Kanda is a former minister from Haryana and an influential politician for Sirsa. Kanda’s name had come up in a case of suicide by a woman employee of his airline company.

However, some of the BJP leaders have cautioned that the party should not take support of Kanda since he is facing a court case and the decision in the case is pending before the court. Former union minister Uma Bharati said that BJP should not compromise on its core beliefs to form government and should not take support of Kanda because of the case against him which is before the court.

“I have learnt that BJP can get support of Gopal Kanda who is an independent MLA. If he is the same person whose name had come up in the suicide of a girl then the case is before the court and the MLA is out on bail. It is for the court to decide whether he is innocent or not but his election victory does not make him innocent. I would request BJP that we should not forget our core beliefs. We should form government in Haryana but we should take support of clean image,” tweeted former union minister Uma Bharati.