Haryana: Vote for development, says Hooda; rivals’ rebuff, what development?

By Rajendra Khatry The stage is set for a multi-cornered contest in Haryana with the Congress, the BJP, the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and some smaller parties deciding to go it alone. However, the contest will be limited to the big three with others largely playing the role of spoilers. Interestingly, the opposition will be taking on the Congress on the very planks it targeted them earlier. [caption id=“attachment_1725755” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Bhupinder Singh Hooda. IBN Live[/caption] A beleaguered Congress is taking a third successful shot at power, while the BJP, which had a phoenix-like rise in the Lok Sabha poll, is eying victory for the first time while going at it alone. The INLD, which was last in power from 2000 to 2005 is aiming to wrest the initiative from other parties to ride to success. The dice is loaded against the incumbent Congress indeed. While the party will be focussing on all-round development under Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, the other parties have decided to challenge this very claim in their election campaign. Of course, unfulfilled promises, allegations of corruption, caste division, bias in recruitment and development of the state, atrocities on Dalits, alleged land scams, power and water shortage, rising prices are going to haunt the Congress in the election. Speaking to Firstpost, Abhey Chautala, leader of the INLD who is spearheading the campaign in the absence of their top two leaders, Om Prakash Chautala and Ajay Singh Chautala who are in jail at present in the JBT teachers recruitment case, said the Congress failed on all fronts. “The Congress and the BJP are fighting for the second and third place in the assembly election in Haryana. The INLD will come to power winning more than 60 seats,’’ he said. “There are so many charges against the Congress government and it will find it difficult to answer them. Corruption is the biggest issue, dubious land deals under the Congress regime is another. The government failed to check the rising prices of everything. Acute power shortage affected all sections of society, including domestic users, farmers and industrialists, despite tall claims by the government. Robert Vadra is also an issue, so is the 10 CD scam against Congress members. The chief minister himself is an election issue for us,’’ he added. The issue of corruption is likely to dominate the election this time like in 2005 when the Congress party had brought out a `chargesheet’ against the then ruling INLD. The Congress had successfully used the issue during the election campaign then. The INLD, along with the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) have been alleging corruption in all departments of the government and in jobs and recruitment. The INLD had brought out a CD showing nine Congress leaders, which included a minister and two chief parliamentary secretaries (CPS), three MLAs and two other people, who were demanding a large amount of money for getting change of land use (CLU) of land in prime areas of the state. Not just the Opposition leaders, but many in the ruling Congress too have been alleging bias in recruitment and development in government jobs. They also alleged that the development was Rohtak-centric (Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s home district) and other areas of the state were neglected. Rajya Sabha MP and former MP from Ambala, Kumari Selja and former Finance Minister of Haryana Birender Singh, who recently quit the party to join the BJP, besides Rao Inderjit Singh, now BJP MP from Gurgaon, and Venod Sharma were the most vocal in alleging regional bias. Opposition parties will highlight the bias in recruitment and development in the state under the Congress regime. Anil Vij, BJP legislative party leader in Haryana, said be it acute power shortage, corruption or poor development of the state, besides unemployment, the Congress government had failed on all fronts. “It is not just we who are saying this, but everyone in Haryana is criticising the government for its acts of omission and commission. Everyone knows that all the development projects in the state were concentrated in Rohtak and Jhajjar districts besides Sonepat. We will make all these issues our election campaign,” he said. The Dalits of the state feel that they have been targets of oppression by the upper castes time and again. Rape and other atrocities on the members of the Dalit communities created a feeling of alienation among the community. All political parties, especially the BSP, is going to use Dalit atrocity a major campaign issue. Opposition parties also plan to take up the law and order situation and the governance or lack of it as campaign issues. In 2005, the Congress had made the deteriorating law and order situation a major poll issue against the then INLD-BJP government. The situation has reversed this time around. There is no love lost between the INLD and the BJP, one-time allies, in the state. The former has given two seats to the Siromani Akali Dal (SAD). The INLD is not missing any chance to take pot-shots at the BJP. The INLD, the election campaign of which has been hampered by the absence of its top leaders Om Prakash Chautala and Ajay Chautala, has declared 85 of its candidates (including two of SAD) for the 90 member Haryana assembly. The BJP has declared candidates for a majority of seats, the Congress is yet to release its own. Other smaller political parties like the HJC and the BSP are in the process of declaring their candidates. With the poll nominations having started on September 20, the countdown for the poll on 15 October has already begun in the state.