Gopal Goyal Kanda (born 29 December 1965), commonly known as Gopal Kanda, is an Indian politician from Sirsa, Haryana. He is the founder and leader of the Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP) and served as a Member of the Haryana Legislative Assembly (MLA) from the Sirsa constituency in three separate terms (2009–2014, and 2019–2024). He briefly served as Haryana's Minister of State for Home Affairs in 2012.
Early life
Gopal Kumar Goyal was born on 29 December 1965 in Sirsa, Haryana. His father, Murli Dhar Kanda, was a lawyer in Sirsa said to have been close to Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader Om Prakash Chautala. According to a Times of India profile, Kanda dropped out of school before completing Class 10, and his early working life involved a range of trades he has been described as having worked as an electrician, a shoe-shop owner, and a real estate broker before rising to become an industrialist and, eventually, a politician. He is also known for his long association with a local religious figure, Tara Baba, whom he has credited for his success, and the HLP's headquarters are located at a religious site associated with Tara Baba in Sirsa district.
In 1997, Kanda moved to Gurgaon (now Gurugram) and began working in resolving disputed property matters. His fortunes are reported to have changed significantly after Om Prakash Chautala became Chief Minister of Haryana in 1999, a period during which Kanda's business interests expanded substantially.
He uses the surname "Kanda" in political and religious contexts, while his name on official papers and in business remains Gopal Kumar Goyal.
Political career
Entry into politics and 2009 election
Kanda entered electoral politics as an Independent candidate, winning the Sirsa seat in the Haryana Legislative Assembly in the 2009 election. He is reported to have first built political connections as a close aide to INLD leader Ajay Chautala, though that relationship later soured.
Minister of State for Home Affairs and resignation (2012)
Kanda went on to serve as Minister of State for Home Affairs in the Congress government of then Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
Founding the Haryana Lokhit Party and 2014 election
Kanda launched the Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP) on 2 May 2014, together with his brother, Govind (Gobind) Kanda. The party fielded 75 candidates for the 90-seat Haryana Assembly in the 2014 election; all were defeated, including Kanda himself in Sirsa, and most lost their election deposits as well.
Return to the Assembly (2019) and "kingmaker" role
Kanda returned to electoral politics in the 2019 Haryana Assembly election, again contesting Sirsa on the HLP ticket. He narrowly defeated independent candidate Gokul Setia. Reported margins vary slightly across sources, cited as either 602 or 603 votes becoming HLP's sole MLA. With the 2019 Assembly closely divided between the BJP and opposition parties, Kanda's single seat gave him outsized political leverage, and he was widely described in the press as a "kingmaker," with HLP lending outside support to the BJP-led government (the party was later listed among NDA constituents).
2024 election defeat
Kanda contested Sirsa again in the 2024 Haryana Assembly election, seeking a further term, but lost the seat to Congress candidate Gokul Setia, the same rival he had narrowly defeated in 2019 by a reported margin of around 7,234 votes, ending his second consecutive Assembly tenure.
Personal life
Kanda's brother, Govind (Gobind) Kanda, is also active in Haryana politics and has contested elections from the neighbouring Rania constituency. Public reporting describes Kanda as maintaining a large residence in Sirsa's Bilaspur area, near the Tara Baba religious complex that also houses a charitable trust and hospital associated with the family.