The Haryana election results on Thursday threw up a hung Assembly, and the BJP have started hectic parleys to gain the support of independent candidates in the state and form the government. The BJP has won 40 seats in the 90-member assembly while the Congress won 31. The BJP claims to have the support of seven independents, one of whom is the controversial politician Gopal Kanda, who claims to have at least five independent MLAs on his side.
Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP) President Kanda is the newly elected MLA from Sirsa. He is the main accused in the death of Geetika Sharma, a former air hostess, who was employed in the now-defunct MDLR Airlines.
In 2005, Kanda, who was by then a 'land king' in Haryana, started 'MDLR Airlines', named after his father Murli Dhar and son Lakhpat Ram. This is when he reportedly met Geetika Sharma. On August 5, 2012, Geetika was found dead at her home – her suicide note accused Kanda and one of his aides of harassment.
The same day, Kanda resigned as minister, and was booked on charges of rape, abetment to suicide, criminal conspiracy, and intimidation. After absconding for some time, he was later arrested. A few months after his arrest, Geetika’s mother too took her own life. She too had accused Kanda of harassment, and abetting her daughter’s suicide.
In March 2014, the charge of rape was dropped by the Delhi High Court due to lack of evidence. Kanda secured bail and then tried to contest the Assembly Elections held that year, but lost.
This time however, he has managed to win from Sirsa by a slender margin of 602 votes, and reportedly holds the key to the BJP coming back to power in Haryana. Kanda is currently in Delhi to meet BJP President Amit Shah.
The BJP is now being criticised for relying upon a tainted MLA, once accused of rape, to come back to power. Kanda and his wife Saraswati Devi are currently also facing allegations of income tax evasion of Rs 40 crore, while Kanda himself is dealing with five cases pertaining to bouncing of cheques.
Even BJP's National Vice President, Uma Bharti, has asked party chief Amit Shah and PM Narendra Modi to reconsider allying with Kanda, stating that winning an election does not absolve the person of his crimes.
“I would request the BJP not to forget our moral foundation. We have a force like Narendra Modi… the country, in fact, the whole world is with Modiji. BJP should form government in Haryana, it should be ensured that those who are with us are leading lives that are as clean and spotless as those of BJP workers,” she tweeted.
The Congress on Friday slammed the BJP for being in talks with Gopal Kanda to form government in Haryana saying it shows their "double standards" and hunger for power. On Twitter too, BJP has faced major criticism for its decision to rely on Kanda’s support.