Gokul Setia, grandson of five-time MLA and veteran leader Lacchman Dass Arora, formally joined the Congress in Haryana on Tuesday. Considered to be a strong contender against Haryana Lokhit Party’s Gopal Kanda in the Sirsa assembly constituency, Setia had contested as an Independent candidate in the 2019 Assembly polls.
Although he had lost to Kanda, the margin was as low as 602 votes. A 35-year-old politician, Setia did his graduation in 2009 from the DAV College, Chandigarh Sector 10, Panjab University.
After joining Congress, Setia said, “I am positive that Haryana will vote for the Congress in a big way this time. I want my constituency to be given due participation in the government. For the last 10-15 years, my constituency was ignored. Even while I was in the BJP, I had to protest in the interest of my constituency; which is why I was not considered as the party nominee in the 2019 Assembly election.”
In the 2019 elections, Setia had declared his assets at over Rs 16.5 crore. Setia is a businessman and an agriculturist by profession.
On Tuesday, Gokul joined Congress in presence of Congress legislative party leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda, party affairs in-charge of Haryana Deepak Babaria, Haryana Congress president Udai Bhan and screening committee’s chairman Ajay Maken.
According to party sources, Setia was in close contact with the Congress party high command through Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring.
In 2023, Setia had approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court apprehending threats from the Bambiha gang and seeking police protection for himself and his family. Last year, on an alarm raised by the Punjab police, the Haryana police had provided Setia with a security cover.
Setia had claimed that he received threatening calls on WhatsApp from gangster Lucky Patial after which he had approached Sirsa’s superintendent of police and deputy commissioner seeking permission for a gun license and a bullet-proof car.
In the past, there had been allegations that Setia was once a close friend of now gangsters Goldy Brar and Lawrence Bishnoi.
Click here to join The Indian Express on WhatsApp and get latest news and updates
