NEW DELHI: Will people of Haryana give ruling BJP consecutive third term in office or will the Congress snatch power from the saffron party after staying in opposition for 10 years? With campaign for the October 5 assembly elections for the 90-member assembly drawing to a close, the stage is set for an interesting contest that will decide the fate of the two contenders.
Both the BJP and the Congress went all out with a very aggressive campaign to woo the people of Haryana. While the BJP is banking on its development report card of 10 years, the Congress is trying to capitalise on anti-incumbency and on issues like the farmers protest and the Agnipath Scheme – which provides short-term recruitment in armed forces.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who led the BJP campaign, is confident that the Congress will fall flat on October 8 when the votes are counted. In a post on X, PM Modi said that he has observed the enthusiasm and support for the BJP after travelling all over the state.
“The campaign for the Haryana assembly elections will end shortly. I have travelled all over the state in the last few days. The enthusiasm I have seen among the people gives me full confidence that the people of Haryana will once again give their blessings to the BJP. The patriotic people of Haryana will never accept the divisive and negative politics of the Congress,” the Prime Minister said.
PM Modi also blasted the Congress for its alleged divisive and negative politics and said the patriotic people of the state will never accept it. “The Congress means a syndicate of fixers and son-in-law,” he said in an apparent reference to controversial land deals involving Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra when the party was in power during 2004-14. He also targeted Bhupinder Singh Hooda and his MP son Deepender Singh Hooda and alleged that the main goal of father-son politics is only self-interest. Modi called the Congress a “party of ‘dalalon’ (middlemen) and ‘damadon'”.
The Prime Minister held 4 rallies in the state and targeted Congress on issues like corruption in land deals, urban-Naxal agenda, reservations, appeasement, dynsaty politics and Article 370.
The Congress campaign on the other hand focussed on issues of alleged misgovernance by former chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who led the BJP government in the state for almost 9 and a half years. BJP removed Khattar ahead of Lok Sabha elections and made Nayab Singh Saini the chief minister.
Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Priyanka Gandhi addressed several rallies in the state but at the centre of Congress’s campaign was senior leader and former state chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on which the party has placed all its bets. The move led to discontent within the party ranks with senior leader and prominent dalit face Kumari Selja staying away from most part of the campaign. Selja was reportedy unhappy with Hooda having complete say in party affairs, including ticket distribution.
Selja has been open about her cold relations with Hooda but has vowed her commitment and loyalty to the party. In an interview with the Lallantop, Selja admitted that after leaving the party presidency, her communication with Hooda had almost stopped.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve talked to Bhupinder Singh Hooda. It’s not about the bad political relationship, it’s like I was in Delhi and he was in Haryana. After that, I was the PCC president, and he was the CLP leader. At that time we used to talk. Before that, from 2014 to 2019, we also used to talk. After quitting the party presidency, we almost stopped talking,” she said.
The grand old party would be wary of one of the predictions made by PM Modi during his campaign when he reminded the Congress about its electoral loss in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, where the campaign was heavily centred around the state heavyweights – Kamal Nath and Ashok Gehlot. Both these leaders had a huge say in taking decisions during the assembly elections in their states. The Congress was routed in Madhya Pradesh and also lost Rajasthan to the BJP.
The Congress campaign in Haryana gained strength when wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia decided to join party ranks. Besides, several leaders from other parties also made a beeline to join the grand old party ahead of the elections. Interestingly, hours before the campaigning ended, senior BJP leader and former MP Ashok Tanwar joined the Congress at Rahul Gandhi’s rally. Ironically, two hours before jumping the ship, Tanwar was campaigning for the BJP candidate in Safidon assembly constituency and exhorting voters to bring it back to power for a third time. Tanwar, a Dalit leader who was considered close to Gandhis had left the Congress in 2019 following differences with Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
Riding high on its success in Lok Sabha elections earlier this year, when Congress wrested 5 seats from the BJP to settle for a 5-5 scoreline, the grand old party would hope to form its government in the state after a gap of 10 years.