In gangsters’ crosshairs, Sirsa strongman Gokul Setia joins Congress, eyes another duel with Gopal Kanda

Gokul had lost to Kanda in the Sirsa seat by just 602 votes in the 2019 Assembly polls, when he had contested as an Independent candidate. Although he was then with the BJP, he did not get the party’s ticket, leading to his bid as an Independent.

Gokul, 35, did his graduation from DAV College in Chandigarh in 2009. A businessman and agriculturist, he had declared his assets to the tune of over Rs 16.5 crore in his affidavit for the 2019 polls.

In 2023, Gokul had approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, apprehending threats from the Bambiha gang and seeking police protection for his family. Following an alarm raised by the Punjab police, the Haryana police then provided Gokul with a security cover. He claimed that he received threatening calls on WhatsApp from gangster Lucky Patial of the Bambiha gang following which he had approached Sirsa SP and Deputy Commissioner, seeking permission for a gun licence and a bullet-proof car.

In the past Gokul had also faced allegations over his “proximity” to gangsters like Goldy Brar and Lawrence Bishnoi. The Bishnoi-Brar gang has been linked to the killing of popular Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala in Punjab in May 2022.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Gokul, however, distances himself from the gangsters. “In my student days I was active in students politics, which is why we used to visit several colleges and Panjab University. I was also a student of DAV College where I met Goldy Brar and others. But at that time they were all clean. Goldy then went to Canada. It was after Goldy’s brother Gurlal Brar was murdered that he entered into the world of crime. Now, how can I be associated with him today,” he says.

Gokul also says, “I am into construction business in Chandigarh and nearby areas, have my resorts in several districts of Haryana and also have farm land in Muktsar in Punjab.”

Regarding his break-up with the BJP, he says, “In 2019, then chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar had promised me the BJP ticket from Sirsa, but I did not find my name in the list. Thus I quit the BJP and contested from the seat as an Independent candidate.”

Gokul’s family has been associated with the Congress for several decades. Late Lachhman Dass had been a senior Congress leader and five-time MLA, mostly from the Sirsa seat. Their family parted ways with the Congress ahead of the 2014 Assembly polls. Gokul’s mother Sunita Setia had then contested the polls from Sirsa on the BJP ticket, but lost.

Gokul joined the Congress Tuesday in the presence of ex-CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, state Congress president Udai Bhan, Haryana party affairs in-charge Deepak Babaria, and the chairman of the party screening committee Ajay Maken.

Congress sources said Gokul was in close contact with the party through Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring.

“I have joined Congress today and I am quite positive that there is a wave in Congress’s favour in Haryana. For the last five years, I had been working very hard in my constituency (Sirsa) and people want to see me representing them,” Gokul claims.