M A I N   N E W S

In Haryana, Badal hints at post-poll BJP-INLD alliance
Deepender Deswal & Sushil Manav
Tribune News Service

The SAD is a key constituent of the NDA and has a long-standing partnership with the BJP in Punjab. The party also has an electoral understanding with the OP Chautala-led INLD in Haryana and the Badals cite family ties that go back four decades. The senior Badal shared a strong bond with Chaudhary Devi Lal and their families have been close politically and socially.

Badal had made efforts to persuade BJP leaders to get INLD a seat on the NDA boat. In a move that is seen as a bid to divert voters influenced by Modi towards the INLD, Badal said, “I see a reflection of Chaudhary Devi Lal in Dushyant. Tum isko MP bana do, main minister banwa dunga (you make him MP and I’ll help him become a minister).” However, unlike his son Sukhbir Badal, who had asked people to ensure the rival HJC nominee Kuldeep Bishnoi lost his deposit, Badal Senior did not target him.

Badal said the INLD’s victory would pave the way for Chautala’s return as Haryana Chief Minister. Recalling the family ties with the Chautalas, Badal said, "We have a relationship of the heart with the family of Chaudhary Devi Lal. It is above every other relation. We can sacrifice our lives for each other.”

Continuing in the same vein, he sought to put an end to the bitter inter-state issues between Haryana and Punjab, stating that the two states were like sons of one mother. “Punjab aur Haryana ek maa ke do bete hain. The Congress has a policy of divide and rule. It gets people at daggers drawn in the name of religion and region,” he alleged, but refrained from touching upon controversial issues such as the Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) canal.

Continuing to hit out at the Congress, the SAD leader said the UPA Government had failed to protect the country's borders. Stating that the Congress and corruption were two aspects of the same coin, he said, “The people are fed up with the Congress rule. Poverty, corruption and inflation have brought misery.”

Accusing Bhupinder Singh Hooda of a bias against Sirsa in terms of development, the Punjab CM alleged the Haryana CM treated the Chautalas’ home district as if it were part of Pakistan.

Badal said his friend OP Chautala and his son Ajay were jailed as part of a conspiracy by Hooda, the UPA government at the Centre and the CBI. “Chautala has been sent to jail for 10 years, a term rarely awarded even in murder cases,” Badal said. “April 10 is the time for revenge. Vote for the INLD candidates to wipe out the Congress.”

INLD leader Abhay Chautala made a scathing attack on HJC chief Bishnoi stating that his father had introduced corruption in Haryana politics. "It's ridiculous that he was seeking votes on the plank of clean politics and eradicating corruption.”

Family ties over allies

• Badal shared a strong bond with Chaudhary Devi Lal and the families have been close politically and socially for over four decades
• Though SAD is a key ally of the NDA and has a long-standing partnership with BJP in Punjab, it also has an electoral understanding with INLD. Both Badal and Sukhbir campaigned for the party
• Badal had earlier made efforts to persuade BJP leaders to get INLD on board the NDA

‘Punjab, Haryana sons of one mother

In a bid to put an end to the bitter inter-state issues between Haryana and Punjab, Badal described the two states as sons of one mother. “Punjab aur Haryana ek maa ke do bete hain. The Congress has a policy of divide and rule. It gets people at daggers drawn in the name of religion and region,” he said, but refrained from touching upon controversial issues such as the Satluj Yamuna Link canal.