Chandigarh: Even as the grandson and the granddaughter of former chief minister Bansi Lal have got locked in a stiff battle for the family stronghold Tosham, a BJP rebel, who is contesting as an independent candidate threatens to play a spoilsport.
While the ruling BJP has fielded former MP Shruti Choudhry, daughter of former minister Kiran Choudhry and her husband late Surender Singh, younger son of Bansi Lal, a four-time chief minister, the Congress has fielded Anirudh Chaudhry, a cricket administrator-turned-politician, who is son of Ranbir Mahendra, former BCCI president, elder son of Bansi Lal. A Congress veteran and a confidante of Gandhi family, Bansi Lal was also a six-time MLA from Tosham.
However, Bansi Lal had also floated Haryana Vikas Party (HVP) and even formed a government in 1996 after parting ways with Congress but merged it into Congress in 2005. Ranbir and his sister-in-law Kiran, had been embroiled in legal battles over the claims of succession to Bansi Lal’s assets after his death in 2006.
Surender Singh, who died in a helicopter crash in 2005, had been an MLA twice and Kiran Choudhry, four times, from Tosham on Congress ticket. Kiran, who is now BJP’s member in Rajya Sabha, had recently joined BJP along with her daughter Shruti.
A citadel of Bansi Lal family, Tosham seat has been won by Bansi Lal or a member of his family, 13 times since 1967; it was only in 1987 and 2000 when it was won by someone outside his family - by Dharambir Singh, who won this seat on Lok Dal and Congress ticket, respectively.
However, while BJP’s Shruti, 48, has taken on her first cousin Anirudh, also 48, a first timer, to wrest the family legacy, Ranjan Parmar, a BJP rebel has jumped into fray and threatens to play the spoilsport. Kiran had in 2019, then a Congress candidate had defeated Parmar, then a BJP candidate. Kiran had won this seat on the Congress ticket in 2019 by 18,059 votes, defeating Parmar, then a BJP candidate.
However, unlike in the past, Bhiwani-Mahendergarh BJP MP Dharambir, who was a bete noire of late Surender Singh and Kiran Choudhry earlier, is backing Shruti this time.
Tosham is a Jat-dominated seat with over 33% Jats, 24% SCs and 10% Brahmins, 7% Rajputs and 5% Ahirs, besides other castes.
Also in fray are BSP’s Om Singh – INLD and BSP have forged an alliance this time - and Jannayak Janta Party’s (JJP’s) Rajesh Bhardwaj, a former sarpanch, and a local JJP leader - JJP has also stitched an alliance with Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram).
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