Gopal Goyal Kanda, born on 29 December 1965 in Sirsa, Haryana, is an Indian businessman and politician who has represented the Sirsa Assembly constituency in the Haryana Legislative Assembly on two occasions. He first entered the Assembly as an Independent candidate in 2009 and returned as the Haryana Lokhit Party candidate in 2019. He served as an MLA from 2009 to 2014 and again from 2019 to 2024. In the 2024 Assembly election, he contested Sirsa on the Haryana Lokhit Party ticket but lost to Congress candidate Gokul Setia.
Kanda’s public career has combined business, entrepreneurship, regional politics and electoral organisation. His rise began in the business world, particularly in real estate, before he expanded into aviation and other commercial ventures and subsequently entered electoral politics.
Early Life
Gopal Kanda was born into a family associated with Sirsa. His father, Murli Dhar Kanda, was a lawyer. His family had a trading background, and accounts of his early life describe a modest upbringing in Sirsa.
His early business attempts included ventures in music and footwear. According to published accounts, he later moved to Gurgaon during the late 1990s, where he entered the property business at a time when the city’s real-estate sector was expanding rapidly. He initially worked in property brokerage and subsequently moved into development and other commercial activities.
His business interests later diversified beyond real estate. Public reporting has associated him with ventures in areas including hospitality, aviation, entertainment and other businesses.
Family Details
| Family Member | Relationship | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Murli Dhar Kanda | Father | Advocate in Sirsa; contemporary profiles also describe his association with the RSS and his involvement in electoral politics. |
| Munni Devi | Mother | Identified in biographical sources as Gopal Kanda’s mother. |
| Govind Kanda | Younger brother | Businessman and politician; he co-founded the Haryana Lokhit Party with Gopal Kanda and later contested elections, including the Ellenabad bypoll on a BJP ticket in 2021. |
| Saraswati Kanda / Saraswati Devi | Wife | Haryana Vidhan Sabha records list Saraswati Kanda/Saraswati Devi as Gopal Kanda’s spouse. |
| Son | Son | Haryana Vidhan Sabha records state that Gopal Kanda has one son. |
| Two daughters | Daughters | Haryana Vidhan Sabha records state that he has two daughters. |
From Business to Aviation
One of the most prominent chapters of Kanda’s business career was his entry into aviation.
In 2007, he launched MDLR Airlines, with the name derived from the initials of his father, Murli Dhar Lakh Ram. The airline began operations but remained in business for a relatively short period before being grounded and subsequently shutting down.
The aviation venture significantly increased Kanda’s public profile and connected his business career with the political and social networks he had developed in Haryana.
Entry Into Politics
Gopal Kanda returned to Sirsa around 2006 with political ambitions, drawing on his family’s association with the Chautala family and on his religious patronage of Tara Baba’s following to build a local base. However, when the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), led by the Chautalas, declined to give him a ticket for the 2009 Haryana assembly election reportedly doubting he could win and the Congress also passed him over, Kanda contested Sirsa as an independent candidate. He won, defeating the INLD’s Padam Jain by a margin of roughly 6,500 votes.
In the hung assembly that followed, Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda needed the support of independents to form a government. Kanda rallied a bloc of independent MLAs behind Hooda, earning himself the “kingmaker” tag that has stuck to him ever since, and was rewarded with a cabinet berth – Minister of State for Home, later also holding portfolios covering Urban Local Bodies and Industries & Commerce.
Formation of the Haryana Lokhit Party
Following his release on bail and a period away from electoral office, Kanda established the Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP) with his brother Govind Kanda in May 2014.
He contested the 2014 Haryana Assembly election from Sirsa as an HLP candidate but was defeated by Makhan Lal Singla of the Indian National Lok Dal. His 2014 election affidavit identified him as a businessman and recorded his educational qualification as below matriculation from RSD School, Sirsa.
The creation of HLP marked an important transition in Kanda’s political career: rather than contesting solely as an Independent, he created a regional political platform of his own.
Return to the Haryana Assembly
Kanda returned to electoral politics in the 2019 Haryana Assembly election.
Contesting Sirsa on the Haryana Lokhit Party ticket, he defeated Independent candidate Gokul Setia by a narrow margin. He became the HLP’s sole MLA in the Assembly and once again became part of the political discussions surrounding government formation in Haryana.
The political circumstances surrounding the 2019 election again placed Kanda in a position of relevance because of the closely contested Assembly arithmetic. His party subsequently supported the BJP-led government.
Political Position in Sirsa
Sirsa has remained the centre of Kanda’s political career.
He represented the constituency from 2009 to 2014 and again from 2019 to 2024. His electoral career therefore spans two separate periods in the Haryana Assembly and reflects his continued political presence in the Sirsa region.
In the 2024 Haryana Assembly election, Kanda again contested Sirsa for the Haryana Lokhit Party. He received 71,786 votes, while Congress candidate Gokul Setia received 79,020 votes and won the seat by 7,234 votes.
The result ended Kanda’s second consecutive Assembly tenure, which had begun in 2019.
Electoral and Public Record
Kanda’s election affidavits provide a formal record of his declared professional, educational, financial and legal information.
In his 2024 affidavit, he was listed as being 58 years old, with his profession described as business and salary. The affidavit recorded completion of GCE AS & A Level in November 2015 through Cambridge International Examinations. It declared assets of approximately ₹131.02 crore and liabilities of approximately ₹87.74 crore.
These figures are self-declared election-affidavit information, rather than an independent valuation of his wealth. MyNeta/ADR specifically notes that affidavit information is archived from the candidate’s election filing and that the current position can change.
Business Career
Kanda’s business journey has been characterised by diversification.
His early ventures included footwear and other small businesses. He subsequently established himself in Gurgaon through real estate and property-related activities. Over time, reporting has associated his business interests with real estate, hospitality, aviation and entertainment.
The establishment of MDLR Airlines was among his most visible commercial ventures, while his wider business interests contributed to the financial base from which he entered regional politics.
Tara Baba and Sirsa
Another recurring element in accounts of Kanda’s life is his association with Tara Baba, a spiritual figure from the Sirsa region.
Kanda has supported and developed the Tara Baba Kutiya complex in Sirsa. Reporting has described the estate as a significant religious centre attracting devotees and being managed through a family-associated trust.
The association became part of Kanda’s public identity in Sirsa and has also featured in accounts of his return to the constituency and his development of a local political network.
Political Style
Kanda’s political career has often been characterised by his ability to operate outside the conventional structures of the major national and state parties.
His 2009 victory came as an Independent candidate. His subsequent creation of the Haryana Lokhit Party provided an independent regional political platform. His 2019 victory restored him to the Assembly and the closely contested political environment following that election again made his position relevant to government formation.
Media reports have consequently used terms such as “kingmaker” when describing his role during periods of closely balanced Assembly numbers. Such descriptions are media characterisations of his political position at particular points in time, rather than an official title.
Legacy in Haryana Politics
Gopal Goyal Kanda’s career represents an unusual intersection of entrepreneurship, regional politics and independent electoral organisation.
He moved from small-scale business ventures to real estate and diversified commercial activities, entered electoral politics as an Independent, served as a Haryana minister, established his own regional political party, returned to the Assembly in 2019 and remained a prominent political figure in Sirsa.
His political journey has also been marked by significant controversy, legal proceedings and periods of political uncertainty. At the same time, his repeated electoral presence in Sirsa demonstrates the sustained regional base he has built over the course of his public life.
His most recent electoral contest, the 2024 Haryana Assembly election, ended with his defeat to Gokul Setia. Consequently, while Kanda remains associated with the Haryana Lokhit Party and the Sirsa political landscape, he is not a sitting MLA as of the 2024–2026 period.
Key Milestones
- 29 December 1965: Born in Sirsa, Haryana (then Punjab), to Murli Dhar.
- 1997: Moves to Gurgaon to enter the real-estate business.
- By 2005: Has diversified into designer clothing/exports, hotels, a casino in Goa, and car dealerships.
- 2006: Returns to Sirsa to begin building a political base, drawing on ties to the Chautala family and to Tara Baba.
- 14 March 2007: Launches MDLR Airlines.
- 2008: MDLR Airlines is raided by tax authorities.
- 2009: Wins the Sirsa assembly seat as an independent, defeating INLD’s Padam Jain; becomes Minister of State for Home in the Hooda government; MDLR Airlines ceases operations (November 2009).
- 2 May 2014: Founds the Haryana Lokhit Party.
- 2014: Loses the Sirsa seat, contesting as HLP candidate.
- 24 October 2019: Wins back the Sirsa seat by 603 votes; HLP aligns with the NDA.
- 8 October 2024: Loses the Sirsa seat to Congress’s Gokul Setia by over 7,000 votes; HLP later aligns with the INLD.
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