Gopal Goyal Kanda: The kingmaker who couldn’t be

It was later announced that both Kanda and Ranjit Singh have offered “unconditional support” to the saffron party. It was a study in contrast because, Ranjit Singh, the estranged brother of Indian National Lok Dal chief Om Prakash Chautala, had just hours ago defeated Kanda’s brother Govind Goyal Kanda in Rania Assembly constituency. Kanda won from Sirsa Assembly constituency and will now be the only member of the Haryana Lokhit Party, which he founded with Govind in May 2014, in the next Vidhan Sabha.

The sequence of events beginning with Assembly election results throwing up a hung House, BJP accepting support from Independents and Kanda, who is facing trial in a criminal case, and the resultant backlash leading to saffron party joining hands with Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), put the focus firmly on the HLP leader.

For a leader, who missed the chance to be the kingmaker in the next government, being picked up as key resource for forming a government in Haryana is not new.

In 2009 too, he was picked up in a similar manner and brought to Congress’ bandwagon. At that time, Congress had faced a similar majority crisis with 40 seats and required six more MLAs for forming government. Kanda helped Hooda and in return bagged the coveted Home portfolio.

The background

In 90s, Kanda used to repair radio handsets at his shop – Jupiter Music Home – making a few hundred rupees a month. He and Govind then opened a footwear store in Sirsa. In his thirties then, Kanda used his friend circle to reach out to traders and businessmen and later politicians and gained their trust. The Kanda brothers went on to open a factory to manufacture footwear. By then he had started nurturing major political ambition and got close to the family of former Haryana Chief Minister Bansi Lal. But as Bansi Lal’s government fell, Kanda switched sides to Chautalas. A Haryana cadre senior IAS officer’s friendship with Kanda is an open secret in the state. This officer helped Kanda expand his business. From Sirsa, Kanda shifted his base to Gurgaon and started dealing in real-estate. He never looked back.

The rise

However, it was in 2007 when he left Haryana in general and Sirsa in particular stunned by launching an airline. He had named it MDLR Airlines, the acronym expanding to Murli Dhar Lakh Ram, the name of his father. Kanda’s sky high dreams, however, could not soar for long and his airlines was grounded within two years of the launch. It was in 2009 that he sought an INLD ticket to contest the polls was not considered. An infuriated Kanda filed his nomination as an independent candidate from Sirsa and won. It was the time when Congress’s Bhupinder Singh Hooda was looking for a second term as chief minister. Congress had fallen short of majority and Hooda got Kanda airlifted from Sirsa. A hard-bargainer, Kanda secured for himself the Home portfolio. While his airline was grounded, Kanda set up another business. His Golden Globe Hotels Private Limited now runs casino in Goa.

Political connections

Kanda’s father Murli Dhar was a renowned advocate in Sirsa. He had joined RSS in 1926 and had even unsuccessfully contested on RSS’ poll symbol – Deepak – in 1952 from Sirsa constituency. Kanda and Govind used to be close aides of the Chautala brothers – Abhay and Ajay, the sons of INLD president Om Prakash Chautala. Kanda was considered Abhay’s key man till 2005. However, the relationship strained after Chautalas did not allow him to contest in their citadel of Sirsa.

His controversial past

Though named the Home minister in Hooda government, Kanda could not enjoy the power for long and had to resign from his post in the wake of legal charges filed against him by a former air-hostess of his MDLR Airlines. Hooda washed his hands of Kanda, who was arrested in August 2012 after the former air-hostess with committed suicide accusing latter of harassment. He was serving as Haryana home minister when he was arrested.

In February, 2013, the air hostess’ mother too killed herself and left a suicide note.

In March, 2014 Delhi High Court dropped the sexual exploitation charge against Kanda and he was released on bail. He is still facing trial in the same case besides a number of cases under the Negotiable Instruments Act.

It was in October, 2016 when both the Kanda brothers were accused of illegally developing a property in Sirsa, a case that has remained under investigation of Haryana Police since 2009.

Kandas’ spiritual path

the Kanda family are followers of Tara Baba, a reclusive spiritual guru in Sirsa. Kanda worked a lot to promote Tara Baba. Various other politicians also used to visit Tara Baba, who died in 2002. Kanda had got a huge temple built in Tara Baba’s memory in Sirsa, where the Kanda family feeds thousands of poor and holds weekly meditation discourses in Sirsa.