In keen Sirsa battle, Selja seizes on farm rage, unemployment, as Tanwar plays Modi card

The Sirsa Lok Sabha constituency in Haryana is witnessing a fierce contest between two former state Congress chiefs, Kumari Selja and Ashok Tanwar.

The Sirsa belt has often been in the news over the past decade due to its association with religious leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

Both Selja and Tanwar have represented Sirsa as the Congress MPs in the past. Tanwar had been the Congress nominee from Sirsa since 2009, having won in 2009 and lost twice, in 2014 to then INLD’s Charanjit Singh Rori, and in 2019 to the BJP’s Sunita Duggal. This year, while Tanwar is fighting on a BJP ticket, Selja, who had cut her teeth in electoral politics by winning Sirsa in 1991 and again in 1996, is back in the constituency, representing the Congress, having lost to the BJP’s Rattan Lal Kataria from Ambala in 2019.

The electoral battle in Sirsa seems to be evenly poised, with BJP MLAs representing two of its nine Assembly segments — Fatehabad and Ratia. The Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), which represents Narwana and Tohana, recently cut off ties with the BJP-led state government, although its two MLAs in Sirsa are supporting the BJP, along with the Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP)’s MLA from Sirsa Assembly, while the lone Independent MLA — from Rania Assembly segment — has joined the BJP and is contesting from the Hisar Lok Sabha seat.

On the other hand, the Congress represents two Assembly segments, Kalanwali and Dabwali, while Ellenabad is represented by the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD).

Both Selja and Tanwar are actively campaigning across the length and breadth of the constituency, with each addressing about 20-25 public meetings daily. While Tanwar, who is relying on his old connect with the constituency backed by the BJP’s massive party cadre