Madaan was with the Congress and joined the BJP in July this year, a few days before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Panwar in a case of alleged money laundering and illegal mining in Haryana and Rajasthan.

Panwar first came under the ED’s radar in January when his premises were raided as part of its ongoing investigation pertaining to illegal mining in Yamunanagar, Sonipat, and other districts of Haryana. During the searches at Panwar’s residence, the ED claimed to have seized several “incriminating documents” that allegedly pointed towards illegal mining operations.

While Panwar’s father Dilip Singh Pawar, wife Sunita, son Lalit are also canvassing for him, it is his daughter-in-law Samiksha, 33, who has been at the centre of the campaign. In her public rallies and door-to-door meetings, Samiksha has been appealing to voters to ensure “justice” for her father-in-law.

In one such roadside meeting in Sonipat’s Dev Nagar area on Thursday, Samiksha appealed: “Aaj ek beti ko maidan me koodna padha nyay ki ladai laden ke liye (a daughter has today entered the battle for justice). This is not any BJP versus Congress fight… This is a battle for justice. In this battle, I am reaching out to your people from the past two months and I am sure that Sonipat people will support the truth and justice on October 5 (polling day)… I have come here with great hopes.”

Samiksha, an engineering graduate, also assured the gathering that her father-in-law will become a minister if he and the Congress win the elections on October 8. A party leader on stage claims Panwar has been implicated in a false case and called Panwar a “shareef (decent)” person.

Asked about the significance of this election, Samiksha compares it to an “examination”.

Sonipat is part of the broad Congress belt in Haryana that comprises the Sonipat, Rohtak, Jhajjar, and Nuh districts.

In the 2019 Assembly polls, Panwar won Sonipat by polling 59.51% votes. The BJP’s Kavita Jain came second with 34.88% votes. In the 2014 Assembly polls, Jain won the seat by getting 45.80% votes, while the Congress’s Dev Raj Diwan got 25% votes. Panwar was at the time with the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and had got 24% votes.

On the ground, voters have mixed views about Panwar’s arrest and its impact on the Congress in the seat.

Virendra Hudda, 56, said that “if the ED has arrested Panwar in jail, there would be some evidence against him”. “I do not have sympathy in my mind for the people named in corruption cases,” he added.

On the other hand, Rajinder Singh, a Congress supporter, said, “I have been a supporter of the Congress since the beginning. Any case against a party candidate does not matter for me. I vote for the Congress, not the candidate,” Singh said, while noting that it is going to be a neck-and-neck battle between the BJP and Congress.

In his campaigns, Madaan has been talking of Panwar’s arrest and accusing him of not doing much for the constituency.

Claiming he cannot list even “five projects” that Panwar has carried out in his tenure, Madaan said at a meeting Thursday: “If the public votes because candidates get emotional, everyone would get votes. But votes are not obtained on emotions.”

Sonipat BJP district general secretary Navin Mangla said at the meeting that Madaan had organised various programmes dedicated to lord Ram and organised bhandare (community feasts) in Sonipat on January 22 at the time of the Ram temple consecration.

“When Nikhil Madaan was in Congress as the mayor, Ram ji ‘s programmes were held on January 22 across the world… That day brother (Madaan) had held programmes for Ram ji across the city… He joined the BJP after taking blessings of Ram.)

While the fight appears to be between the Congress and the BJP, other prominent candidates are the INLD’s Sardharam Singh and the Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshiram)’s Rajesh.