Hooda's Congress in Haryana: Vadra land deal may make matters sour for CM

Rohtak: The Congress party was in a celebratory mood when Election Commission ruled that there was nothing wrong in Haryana government clearing a land deal by Robert Vadra with realty giant DLF. Little did the party leaders who took on Narendra Modi for publicly raising questions about the deal, realise that Vadra might be negatively impacting ruling Congress’s poll prospects in Haryana.

Vadra, son-in-law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, among a vast mass of electorate, has come to symbolise those who mint money by powers that are under the Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s government. The chief minister’s Vadra connection could have helped him crush internal dissent and would have given him an unhindered 10-year reign but the same could now prove to be too costly.

Vadra could be the one word explanation of what went wrong with the Hooda government — brokers, property dealers and builders becoming the kingpins and changing the landscape of a state that once was known for its agricultural prowess.

Damad (son-inlaw) — as Vadra is referred by the BJP — bought and sold acres of land which was meant for farming. Land use eventually changed but he is credited by some “to have turned Haryana government from pro-farmer to a property dealer”.

Atma Singh Chahal, a Jat farmer near Jind said, “Hooda has earned that kind of image. Wait for the results and you will see how it will impact him and the Congress party.” A vendor on Bahadurgarh-Rohtak road, Joginder’s anger was directed at the Hooda government and he blamed it on Vadra and his mother-in-law Sonia Gandhi. He claimed that his family owned a small piece of land and used to do tenancy farming for a richer landowner. All that is gone now, the money his family got in compensation was spent.

As the land prices shot over the roof, the land deals and urbanisation benefited landowners in a few areas but the targeted and purposeful designed invocation of Section 4 of Land Acquisition Act, giving state government unbridled powers to notify a piece of land for acquisition and the frequency with which the authorities changed land use at the behest of those in property dealing, has angered the public. Ironically, such nefarious land deals have hurt Jat community the most, a community which Hooda so consciously pampered for the past 10 years.

Anyone who drives down from Delhi to Rohtak — Hooda’s home constituency — knows that the state could use some development. The highway and roads inside the city are wide and smooth. There are too many high-end construction activities on both sides of it. The city has virtually been rebuilt. But drive further, the unevenness of development becomes apparent.

Sushant Dahia, a young man from a well-off landholding family used to be a Hooda fan but now supports rival Chaultalas of INLD. “Hooda didn’t indulge in petty corruption but devised a formula which made money making an easy exercise for his powerful friends,” Dahia said.

There are others who wonder why did the media bring up the Vadra issue every time Hooda faced internal challenge or dissent. A dejected Congress worker who identified himself as Lakhanpal said, as the Vadra issue made headlines, Hooda’s position strengthened in the party. His rivals in the party were sidelined. A number of them, the likes of Birendra Singh and Rao Inderjeet left Congress and joined BJP. Those who stayed were pushed to the margins. Lakhanpal didn’t give his surname.

It’s true that Hooda launched several welfare schemes, some of them have been genuinely helpful to the older and physically challenged. Panchayats were given greater autonomy and financial aid. But Hooda was swayed by his own caste profile. In a bid to displace OP Chautala from the pedestal of a Jat leader, Hooda consciously went to woo Jats. Benefits of most welfare and other government schemes were cornered by the Jats, making other communities feel dejected.

The tension between Jats and 35 other communities only escalated after Jats were declared as OBC. Other communities only saw this as an opportunity for the Jats to walk away with the lion’s share of what was otherwise meant to benefit socially and economically underprivileged.

One Ramvir Jangra from Jind said, “Jats have all the land. Then you have a CM who is Jat, a Jat DC, Jat SP, Jat SHO. Jats have employment and political parties at their command. Despite all this now they have been categorised as OBCs, poaching into whatever little opportunity we had. Tell me where do we go.”

As the campaigning closed today, Hooda tried hard to convince his voters that since there was “no other chief ministerial candidate”, he remained their only option to vote. Om Prakash Chautala is back in jail. As a convicted person Chauatala will not be able contest 2014 elections and hence can’t be the CM. The BJP doesn’t have a CM nominee. Hooda is a tailor-made chief minister for the state and his third term depended on their simple approval.

Bereft of substantive support from other communities and Chautala still holding firm on Jat community, Congress may have to contend with small number of seats, that too in areas where Hooda’s personal appeal would matter. Fireworks in Haryana Congress are sure to start once results are declared on 19 October.