In Jat heartland, ex-CM Hooda’s prestige at stake

Pradeep Sharma

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 25

Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s prestige is at stake in his stronghold in the Jat heartland comprising the Rohtak and Sonepat Lok Sabha seats. The Congress has fielded Hooda from the Sonepat parliamentary constituency.

With the ruling BJP going all out to checkmate Hooda’s influence in the Jat heartland (Sonepat, Rohtak and Jhajjar), he is facing one of the toughest battles of his long political career. In fact, it will be an acid test of Hooda’s popularity in the Jat heartland as his son Deepender Hooda is also trying to retain the Rohtak Lok Sabha seat for the fourth time in a row.

While Hooda will have a difficult time in taking along various Congress factions, the BJP is already making efforts to contain his influence in the Jat heartland, which voted overwhelmingly for the Congress in the 2014 Assembly elections (10 of the 15 Congress MLAs come from these three districts).

However, after the February 2016 violent Jat quota agitation in which large-scale loss of life and property in Rohtak and Jhajjar was reported and Hooda’a role was alleged, the situation might not be that favourable for the Congress this time around.

“Hooda’s various acts of omission and commission, besides his role in the Jat quota agitation, will cost him and his MP son Deepinder Hooda dearly in both Sonepat and Rohtak constituencies. In fact, Deepender won the Rohtak seat thrice in a row in the wake of blatant misuse of the official machinery when his father was the Haryana Chief Minister and the 2019 elections would be the real test of Hoodas’ popularity,” Finance Minister Capt Abhimanyu told The Tribune.

The fact that the BJP’s top leaders, namely Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Lok Sabha in charge Kalraj Mishra, state BJP president Subhash Barala and Cabinet ministers Ram Bilas Sharma, Capt Abhimanyu, OP Dhankar and Manish Grover, were present during the filing of nomination by Arvind Sharma, party candidate from Rohtak, has showed that the BJP was making all efforts to checkmate Hooda in his stronghold.

Digvijay Chautala, JJP-AAP combine candidate from Sonepat, will also add to Hooda’s troubles.

LS poll to test Hoodas’ popularity, says FM

Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s various acts of omission and commission, besides his role in the Jat quota agitation, will cost the former CM and his son Deepender Hooda dearly. The present elections will be a real test of Hoodas’ popularity. Capt Abhimanyu, Finance Minister