Kurukshetra: Caretaker Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini is facing a challenging electoral fight against Congress’s outgoing MLA Mewa Singh in the Ladwa Assembly segment of Kurukshetra district with Political analysts affirming that Saini’s chances in this contest heavily depend on the influence of “vote-cutter” Sapna Barshami from the INLD-BSP, whose presence could complicate the straightforward battle between the BJP and Congress.
Several pressing issues may impact the BJP’s voter base, including the legal guarantee of minimum support prices (MSP), rising unemployment, drug addiction, and illegal immigration, accprding to the experts.
Moreover, the lack of development—particularly the failure to construct a bypass in Ladwa to alleviate traffic congestion—has raised concerns among residents.
“Saini has held the CM position for over six months and was the Kurukshetra MP from 2019 to 2024, yet Ladwa has seen little development. It’s going to be a tough fight, as Mewa Singh is not an easy opponent,” said Mr. Niwas, a resident of Dyagla village in Ladwa.
Another local from Babain, added, “While the BJP is experiencing anti-incumbency in the state, Mewa Singh is facing similar challenges. So, this race is wide open.”
Political analyst Kushal Pal noted that Ladwa is poised for one of the toughest contests in Haryana, observing that the caste dynamics seen in past elections are absent this time around.
Ladwa is predominantly a Jat constituency, with a substantial presence of Dalits and OBCs, including the Saini community.
The BJP is counting on securing OBC votes while hoping to split the Jat votes between Mewa Singh and Sapna.
During his campaign, Mewa Singh mentioned his “local connection,” stating, “I am always available to my voters, while Saini has been inaccessible to the residents of Ladwa, even when he was their MP and later became the CM.”
In contrast, Saini expressed confidence, claiming that the people of Ladwa are actively campaigning for him, allowing him to focus on touring the state.
He also mentioned that his wife, Suman Saini, has been managing campaign efforts in his absence.
It’s worth noting that Sher Singh Barshami, a close associate of former CM Om Prakash Chautala, became the first MLA for Ladwa in 2009 after the segment was established in 2007.
Following Barshami’s imprisonment in the JBT recruitment scandal alongside Chautala, his wife Bachan Kaur contested the 2014 election but lost to BJP’s Pawan Saini by just 2,922 votes.
In the 2019 elections, Barshami’s daughter-in-law, Sapna, garnered a respectable 15,513 votes, finishing third while Mewa Singh claimed victory with a margin of 12,637 votes over BJP’s Pawan Saini.
The BJP is now optimistic that Sapna’s candidacy may siphon off votes from Congress, particularly among Jats and Dalits. A positive indicator for the BJP is their success in the recent parliamentary elections, where they secured 47.14% of the votes in the Ladwa segment of the Kurukshetra constituency.