Fatehabad, MAY 11
A major factor playing a crucial role in the Fatehabad Assembly byelection, scheduled for May 21 is the ‘raj’. If the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) had not been in power, it would not have found the going easy for it in the sandy area of Fatehabad, which lost its sitting MLA, Mr Leela Krishan, on March 27.

Leaders of the INLD were highlighting various development works, particularly those undertaken in villages under the ‘sarkar aapke dwaar’, and were seeking votes as the remuneration for the hard work put in by the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, during his ‘raj’.

On the other hand, the Opposition alleged that the about 1.50 lakh-strong electorate in the constituency were terrorised by the Chautala ‘raj’. Since the present tenure of the INLD government in the state would come to an end only after about two years, the Opposition alleged, the people did not want to be caught on the wrong side of the ruling party. Because of this factor, as Mr Prithvi Singh, a veteran CPM leader of the area claimed, had made the voters silent.

The INLD leaders denied the Opposition claim that the voters were terrorised. They said the voters had been disillusioned by the performance of the Opposition parties in the state. Therefore, they were rallying around the ruling party.

Notwithstanding claims and counterclaims of the Opposition and the INLD, the “raj” factor would definitely affect the voting pattern. In the past, the villages dominated by the Bishnois, kinsmen of the former Chief Minister, Mr Bhajan Lal, had been more or less voting en mass for his nominee. This time, irrespective of the fact how the Bishnois vote, non-Bishnois living in such villages would have the liberty to vote as per their own conscience. But this might not happen in villages dominated by the Jats, usually considered to be the die-hard supporters of the INLD.

There were allegations that many supporters of the Opposition parties were ‘persuaded’ by the ruling party to replace the flags of these parties with those of the INLD. This had forced the Congress to change its tactics. Now the Congress was not pressing its supporters to hoist its flag atop their houses. Its leaders were silently seeking the support of the electorate.

Since the electronic voting machines (EVM) would be used in Fatehabad, many feared that the secrecy of the voting pattern of particular areas would not be maintained. In the past the paper ballots used to be thoroughly mixed, which made it impossible for the political parties to know which area had voted in whose favour. However, with the EVMs in use, booth-wise voting pattern would be known. This had made the voters a little jittery. They feared that if the ruling party did not find the voting pattern in their area to its liking, the development works in that area might come to a halt.

The president of the All-India Youth Congress, Mr Randeep Surjewala, said the Election Commission should find some methodology to keep the voting pattern of particular localities a secret so that the voters could exercise their right to franchise fearlessly and without any apprehension of retribution.

Whatever the Opposition might say, one could not deny the development in the rural areas, many of which now had pucca roads. However, inadequate drought relief was a matter of concern. During the village tours by MLA and a son of the Chief Minister, Mr Abhey Singh Chautala, many complained to him that the relief granted to them was woefully inadequate. He promised them that the loss caused by the drought would be reassessed and, if need be, they would be granted additional relief.