Panchkula: Thirteen years after the death of Bhajan Lal, his son Chander Mohan is leaning hard on the former Haryana chief minister’s legacy as he contests from Panchkula in the state polls. The Congress candidate, too, carries his father’s dream of transforming Panchkula into Paris. That’s not all. He is also promising to make Panchkula the capital of Haryana.
“All government offices in Chandigarh have a head office in Panchkula. Do you know why? Because my father, your beloved former CM Bhajan Lal, had a vision for Panchkula. He wanted to turn it into Paris. And tomorrow, if the question arises about the capital of Haryana, Panchkula will be the only answer,” Mohan told a gathering in Rajiv Colony Tuesday.
He also expressed gratitude to Congress MP Kumari Selja, a detractor of ex-chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, the Congress face in these elections, for helping him secure candidacy for the seat.
While Hooda and his son Deepender are the chief campaigners for the party, their photos are noticeably missing from posters and banners in Panchkula, as Chander Mohan canvasses in the name of Bhajan Lal, who rebelled against the Congress after it chose Hooda as the CM in 2005.
Selja has urged the public to vote for Chander Mohan, emphasising that only “he can work for the people of Panchkula”.
He is up against a formidable opponent in Haryana Assembly Speaker and incumbent MLA Gian Chand Sharma, who won in 2014 and 2019.
In 2019, Chander Mohan had lost out to Sharma by a narrow margin of just 5,633 votes.
So this time, calling himself ‘Panchkula ka beta‘ (Panchkula’s son), 59-year-old Mohan has involved his entire family in managing his election campaign and relied on his father Bhajan Lal’s legacy to draw voters.
“We are yet to see what Chander Mohan will do. We are here because of his father Bhajan Lal. And even if we give him a chance, it will be because of his father,” said a 65-year-old woman at one of the condominiums where Mohan was conducting a public meeting.
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Political trajectory and a controversy
For Chander Mohan and his team, this election could mark his “comeback”, according to his supporters and workers. He has not held a position in the government since he was the deputy chief minister between 2005 and 2008.
His political trajectory was marred by a scandalous love story, and the extensive family involvement this time is being seen as an effort to portray him as a family man.
“If you ask me about Chand Mohammad and Fiza, I will simply walk out of this interview,” the Congress candidate told ThePrint at his office in Panchkula. He also refused to discuss his political exile of over two decades.
In 2008, the then deputy chief minister Mohan went missing. He reappeared after 40 days as Chand Mohammad, confessing to the media that he had gotten married to Anuradha Bali, a former assistant advocate general.
But he was already married to Seema Bishnoi and, to make himself eligible for this marriage, Mohan had said he had converted to Islam.
Bali had also converted to Islam and changed her name to Fiza.
The incident stunned Haryana and, within hours of this announcement, then chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda dropped Chander Mohan from the cabinet.
However, the marriage ended abruptly in 2009, and Fiza was found dead in her apartment in 2012. It was ruled a suicide.
The incident was a major setback for Bhajan Lal’s son and the family’s political heritage.
“Woh bhavi CM candidate thay (He was a potential CM candidate),” a member of his team said.
His team is trying to change the narrative. “All questions eventually lead to Chand and Fiza. And we are trying hard to bury that in the past,” another team member told ThePrint.
For this purpose, his workers and supporters are reaching out to people and explaining how a conspiracy was hatched in 2008 to destroy Chander Mohan’s career because he was poised to become the chief minister in the next elections.
“Mohan was threatened with a rape charge, and the woman, Anuradha Bali alias Fiza, was planted by his political adversaries. Mohan bhai ko fasaya gaya tha (He was tricked),” Yankee Kalia, one of Mohan’s team members, told ThePrint.
Six years later, Chander Mohan contested the 2014 assembly elections as the candidate of the Haryana Janhit Congress from Hisar. He, however, lost that year.
No rivalry for Bhajan Lal’s legacy
But the four-time legislator is not the only candidate banking on Bhajan Lal’s legacy.
His nephew Bhavya Bishnoi, the son of Chander Mohan’s elder brother Kuldeep Bishnoi, is seeking re-election from Adampur in Hisar district as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate. Both Bhavya and Kuldeep switched over to the BJP from the Congress two years ago.
In Fatehabad, Bhajan Lal’s nephew and Chander Mohan’s cousin Dura Ram Bishnoi is also fighting on a BJP ticket.
Speaking to ThePrint, Mohan mentioned that he and his brother’s family might differ ideologically but on a personal level they are united.
“Kuldeep is my elder brother, and I love and respect him a lot. Political ideology is different. Personally, we are one. We are always there for each other, come what may.” he said.
It was also visible on the ground as several of Bhavya’s supporters were also making rounds to Panchkula to help Chander Mohan. One of them, who is also a Bishnoi, said that he had been sent from Adampur to help the Congress candidate.
“Kuldeep bhai sent me to help Mohan bhaiya with the campaign. I will go with him to the rural belt. The brothers have been helping each other,” he said, asking not to be named.
A family-oriented campaign
At their palatial residence in Panchkula, Chander Mohan’s wife Seema was holding a meeting with a PR agency Tuesday.
Usually, the husband-wife duo divide their tasks. While Chander Mohan was visiting the condominiums Tuesday, his wife was canvassing in the narrow lanes of Indira Colony’s slum areas.
“I have come to request you to vote for your son, Chander Mohan. He is committed to serving you. I am his wife, and I promise our family will ensure that all your demands are met,” said Seema as the crowd chanted, ‘Congress aa ri se‘ (Congress is coming).
It’s not just the husband and wife working together to ensure Chander Mohan’s victory—his son Siddharth is carrying out bike rallies and engaging with the youth. Meanwhile, his daughter-in-law Shatakshi Singhania is managing social media and media engagements.
In the living room of Mohan’s house, Shatakshi lined up media interviews for “papa”. “Our main objective is to bring change in Panchkula. It feels like a duty,” Shatakshi told ThePrint.
To Shatakshi, who comes from a business family in Chhattisgarh, Chander Mohan is the ideal father-in-law. Describing his morning routine, she said, he never leaves the house without first playing with his grandson and having breakfast with the family.
“And we don’t have dinner until he returns. He may look stern, but he’s a good man at heart,” Shatakshi said, recalling how the first word her son spoke was “dadu” (grandfather).
Haryana will vote on 5 October, while the results declared on 8 October.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)