M A I N   N E W S

Jailed Chautalas rule Uchana ‘fort’
Naveen S Garewal
Tribune News Service

Uchana, March 29
Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) supremo Om Prakash Chautala and his son Ajay may be in jail, but thousands of diehard loyalists who sent Chautala Senior to the Haryana Vidhan Sabha from the Uchana Assembly segment are concentrating their energies on April 10 when the state votes. It may be just one of the nine segments in the Hisar Parliamentary Constituency, but there’s clearly “sympathy for the Chautalas”.

OP Chautala and his son Ajay, who contested the last Parliamentary elections from here, are serving a jail term after being convicted in the teachers recruitment scam. Ajay lost the Hisar bypoll to Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) president and ex-chief minister Bhajan Lal's son Kuldeep Bishnoi. Bishnoi is locked in a contest with Dushyant, a fourth generation Chautala and Ajay’s son.

Talk of electoral politics in the most casual manner leaves no doubt about the mood in this Jat heartland. As committed HJC workers distribute leaflets that read ‘Why Kuldeep Bishnoi? Ten reasons to vote for Bishnoi’, INLD supporters make no bones about "missing" their "beloved leader".

Steel plates welded on to tractors and graffiti on vehicles proclaiming, "I am a Jat, I am for INLD" is a common sight. Where other voters are hesitant to give out their mind, INLD supporters flaunt their affiliation with pride. This may come as bad news for some, but talk of the "bright" electoral prospects of the INLD nominee is music to the ears of many. The broad smile that follows in Uchana indicates the contest would primarily be between the INLD and the HJC, with the Congress also in the fray. Also a Jat, Congress nominee and ex-finance minister Sampat Singh, holds sway in the Nalwa Assembly segment in this Parliamentary constituency. Sampat Singh is the sitting Congress MLA in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha.

The mood of the area is best reflected in interactions with visitors to ‘Pandtan da Dhaba’, a famous eating joint on the Jind Road in Uchana. “Voters are clearly divided on the basis of caste. While the Jat voter is choosing between INLD and the Congress in that order, the non-Jat voter is clearly in favour of the HJC. The sympathy that is apparent here may not be there in other parts of the constituency, so the mood here may not be a correct representation of voting preferences,” says Pappu, the dhaba owner, who has seen many elections since the 1980s.

The division and undercurrent of voter mood is apparent and palpable. “I won’t see his face, leave aside read his campaign material!” is how a ‘tau’ (village elder) reacts to a party worker trying to hand him the brochure of a party he does not support.

It’s an all-male bastion and politics, too, is governed and run by men. There is no woman campaigning or managing any party office.

Also, like the rest of the country, there is no opinion on dynastic politics. Therefore, while Dushyant is cashing in on his father, grandfather and great grandfather's political legacy, Bishnoi's pamphlets carry the picture of his son Bhavya, who seeks votes in the name of his grandfather and ex-chief minister Bhajan Lal.

“Apna samay kharab mat karo, mahare saare parivar ki vote to mahare leader ko hi jaave, chehra koi vi hove (don't waste your time, our vote will go to our leader, irrespective of the face or name on the ballot paper)” is how Varinder Kumar responds to queries.

Battleground Uchana

• Kuldeep Bishnoi (HJC) is locked in a contest with Dushyant (INLD), a fourth generation Chautala and Ajay’s son
• Dushyant is cashing in on his father, grandfather and great grandfather's political legacy
• Bishnoi's pamphlets carry the picture of his son Bhavya, who seeks votes in the name of his grandfather and ex-chief minister Bhajan Lal.