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Haryana Elections: What the Fight Is About in Bhupinder Singh Hooda's Constituency

Rohtak (Haryana): Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is no stranger to tough opposition. A four-time MP, he thrice defeated former deputy Prime Minister Chaudhary Devi Lal from Rohtak.

This time, Hooda is seeking his third consecutive term to the Haryana state assembly from Garhi Sampla Kiloi constituency in Rohtak district.

His opponent, once again, is Satish Kumar Nandal, whom Hooda had defeated by 47,185 votes in 2014 and by 72,100 votes in 2009. The big difference this time, however, is that Nandal – who contested the last two polls as a candidate from the Indian National Lok Dal – joined the BJP in June this year and has now been fielded as a candidate by the saffron party.

BJP hopes to repeat its Lok Sabha performance

After Arvind Kumar Sharma of the BJP wrested the Lok Sabha constituency of Rohtak in May this year from Hooda’s son and a former Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda by 7,503 votes, the BJP’s decision to throw its weight behind Nandal will make this election a closely contested one.

In fact ever since the BJP roped in Nandal as its candidate for the Garhi Sampla Kiloi constituency, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar has often said that the world will remember the contest in this constituency.

The BJP is banking on the anger from non-Jats against Hooda due to the violence during the Jat reservation agitation of February 2016. It is also hoping that Nandal will be able to split the votes in the 24 Jat-dominated villages in the constituency since he is a local.

Also read: Haryana Politics Has Long Been the Arena of Dynasts and Turncoats

Many in the constituency believe that the election is going to be a closer contest than before but still give Hooda an edge. The BJP is not leaving anything to chance and most of the office-bearers at Nandal’s election office are not his INLD supporters from before but long-time BJP workers.

A bid to capitalise on anger of losses during Jat agitation

The office in-charge Satyanarayan said “the lower castes suffered during the quota agitation”. He said the shops and offices of a large number of Banias and Punjabis were burnt down or damaged during the quota stir and their anger would prove decisive. Some of the non-Jats blame Hooda and his aides for the violence. The arrest of one of Hooda’s aides, Professor Virender Singh, following the violence lent credence to this belief.

Hooda, who hails from the village Sanghi, has, in the past, enjoyed vast support in the 24 villages that are dominated by Jats. The BJP hopes that votes for Nandal, who belongs to Bor and is the president of a Jat association, would split support for Hooda significantly.

BJP candidate Satish Nandal’s office. Photo: Bazil Ashrafi/The Wire

Nationalism, support for armed forces remain key issues

Overall there are 226,009 votes in the constituency. Satyanarayan said, “BJP’s campaign is focussed around the issues of nationalism, greater procurement of equipment by the BJP for the Army and other forces, Prime Minister’s image in the comity of nations.” BJP says issues related to the armed forces draw significant support because nearly 70% of the families in the constituency have at least one member serving in the military.

Another BJP worker and media in-charge Pramod Kumar questioned as to why Hooda had not provided reservation to Jats during his ten-year rule and had only supported the Jat agitation towards the end of his term. BJP leaders have also cited a video of a former Hooda aide supporting the agitation to claim that the Congress was actively inciting violence.

BJP to overplay its support for reservation

Kumar said his party is telling people that it brought reservation for six castes – Jats, Jat Sikhs, Rors, Bishnois, Tyagis and Mulla Jat/Muslim Jat – through the Haryana Backward Classes (Reservation in Services and Admission in Educational Institutions) Bill, 2016 and Haryana Backward Classes Commission Bill, 2016. However, the high court stayed the law and the matter is now pending before the Supreme Court. He also insisted that of the 18 sub-divisional magistrate vacancies filled recently by the Khattar government, 18 were Jats.

Also read: Ground Report: What Women’s Safety Means in Poll-Bound Haryana

While BJP leaders are willing to discuss the quota issue, Nandal’s family members, who have turned up in large numbers, have chosen to avoid the topic altogether. Two of Nandal’s family members at his office in Rohtak said that they would not like to comment on the issue out of fear that the issue surrounding reservations could damage their interests in the Jat-dominated villages and within the community at large.

Khattar failed in maintaining law and order: Hooda

Earlier, speaking to The Wire, Hooda had blamed the Khattar government for failing to maintain law and order in the state several times. He said 84 people were killed in police action over the last five years, which was the highest ever for Haryana.

The Congress, however, is confident of a victory for Hooda in the constituency. Jaideep Dhankar, the party district president for Rohtak Rural, said that during his party’s rule all segments of the society were happy – be it farmers, labourers or business. “But under BJP’s Khattar regime everyone is in distress.”

‘Congress started AIIMS, IITs, IIM’

He also claimed that there was huge progress under Hooda’s term as chief minister. “We started AIIMS over 300 acres and two departments became functional in our time. In the last five years, they could not operationalise the remaining nine.” Likewise, he credited the Congress for bringing two IITs and an IIM – in Rohtak – to the state.

Addressing the BJP’s clamour surrounding “nationalism”, Dhankar said Hooda is the son of a renowned freedom fighter and hence did not need any certificates on nationalism from the BJP.

Also read: Social Engineering and Opposition Disunity Favour BJP in Haryana

Congress to highlight Khattar’s fickle nature, Prakash Singh report

The Congress, he said, is also laying emphasis on Khattar’s ‘fickle’ nature. “He got students, who were appearing for exams, and guest teachers lathi-charged. Khattar also told a close aide, who was riding with him atop a vehicle, that he would cut off his head. What kind of language is this?” Dhankar said.

Like Hooda, Dhankar too insisted that the Prakash Singh Committee report and the preliminary enquiry report of the CBI’s investigation into the quota violence be made public. “Why is the Khattar government hiding these?” asked Dhankar.

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