Jaitadawas (Rewari), April 30
Perhaps inspired by the popularity gained by her party leader Varun Gandhi by reportedly making inflammatory remarks, Dr Sudha Yadav, BJP nominee from the Gurgaon parliamentary constituency, tried to incite communal feelings among the people during her election campaign in the village and nearby areas of the Bawal Assembly segment today.

Dr Yadav warned the people against voting in favour of the Congress, stating that if the Congress came to power again, it would work for the welfare of Muslims only. “Agar Congress dubara aa gayi to Musalman ke siwaye kisi ki baat nahi karegi,” she said.

Terming her rival candidates as pro-Muslim, Dr Yadav categorically stated that she was “the only Hindu candidate” in the fray for the Gurgaon seat, and appealed to the villagers to vote for her.

Launching a pointed attack on the BSP and its candidate Zakir Hussain, the BJP-INLD nominee cautioned the villagers: “Agar Zakir ke haathi (BSP’s election symbol) ko yahan aane diya to tumhe bhi Allah-Bismillah bolna padega.”

Dr Yadav, who proudly claims to be an educated politician, took the divisive attempt further and said she was the only Ahir candidate who was banking on the support of the Ahirwal belt alone. “I am not going to Mewat to seek votes,” she asserted while addressing a gathering in Bharawas village.

She further stated that on getting a one-line message that Islam was in danger, the people of Mewat would unite and vote for a given candidate. “You have to give a befitting reply to them by voting in equally large numbers,” she asked the villagers.

However, it was interesting to note that the press statement on Dr Yadav’s today’s poll campaign did not contain any of the aforesaid remarks.

Ambala/Hansi, April 30
Congress president Sonia Gandhi today came down heavily on the BJP and “numerous parties and individuals forming ‘morchas’ with the only aim to get the Prime Minister’s post.”

Sonia was addressing election meetings in Haryana.

She said to achieve their aim, these parties and individuals were making “khokhle vade” as they had no concrete plans to fulfil these promises. The Congress was not like them. It only wanted to serve every section of society, particularly the poor, women and children.

Ridiculing BJP leader LK Advani, she said he was a person who was talking of the need of a strong leader, forgetting that he was the country’s Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister when several terrorist attacks took place, including on Parliament, and terrorists were provided a safe passage to Kandhar.

When the nation was facing a serious danger not only from cross-border terrorism but also from communal forces, political stability was the need of the hour and her party alone could provide a stable government. In Manmohan Singh, the Congress had an able, honest and efficient Prime Minister.

Adopting a hard attitude, Sonia said Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi had sacrificed their lives while fighting terrorism. The Congress did not need a certificate from anyone about its resolve to stand up to terrorism.

Reverting back to the BJP, she said while the UPA government had taken several pro-farmer decisions, the saffron party, “which accuses us of one or the other thing every day,” did nothing for the farming community. Before 2004, to BJP alone, India was shining, while the people were suffering. It was only after the UPA government was formed that programmes like the national rural employment guarantee, waiving of agriculture loans and ensuring remunerative prices to farmers for their produce were launched.

Having a dig on parties which sought votes on the basis of religion, Sonia said for a politician no religion was bigger than serving the people.

Patting the Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led government in Haryana, Sonia said it had not only fulfilled all promises made in the election manifesto but had done far more. She expressed the confidence that the state government would continue to do good work.

Sonia, who appeared buoyed up by the large cheering crowd at the meetings despite severe hot conditions, said while the party had done a lot over the past five years, a lot more needed to be done in the next few years to ensure that the nation did not stray from the road to progress.

Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said Sonia and the Congress had never made false or unrealistic promises to the people. The track record of the UPA government and his own government in Haryana were ample proof of this.

Congress candidate from Ambala Selja demanded that the ban on registration of sale deeds of land in the area should be evoked; HMT, Pinjore, should be revived and pay of its staff should be revived. She also demanded that small loans to poor persons should also be waived off on the pattern of the agri-loans.

Former INLD MP from Kurukshetra Kailasho Saini and former BJP MLA from Narnaund Ram Kumar Gautam, who resigned his seat and quit his party recently, were welcomed to the Congress in the presence of Sonia Gandhi.

HPCC chief Phool Chand Mullana, working president Kuldeep Sharma, campaign committee chairman Venod Sharma, Congress nominees from Hisar, Rohtak and Kurukshetra, Jai Parkash, Deepender Hooda and Naveen Jindal, respectively, were prominent among those who were present at the meetings.

The presence of Finance Minister Birender Singh, who had been sulking after the denial of the party ticket from Sonepat, did not go unnoticed. Haryana Akali Dal president Kartar Singh Takkar presented a siropa to Sonia Gandhi.

Hisar, April 30
Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s visit to Haryana today has given a fillip to the party’s election campaign in Haryana.

For one, it has served to bring the state party leadership on a common platform. The absence of certain senior leaders in the election meetings addressed by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had marred the party’s election campaign. The most notable among them was Finance Minister Birender Singh who had not campaigned for the party nominee from the Hisar Lok Sabha seat Jai Parkash except in his Assembly segment Uchana.

However, Birender Singh, who has represented Hisar in the Lok Sabha in the past, was present today at the Hansi election meeting addressed by Sonia. This will help send the right message to the voters dispelling doubts of continued infighting in the party.

Secondly, the big gatherings at Sonia’s meetings today will certainly boost the morale of party nominees, workers and supporters. Hansi, where Sonia addressed her first election meeting today, is strategically located. While after delimitation the Hansi Assembly segment is now part of the Hisar Lok Sabha seat, it also borders the Bhiwani-Mahendragarh Lok Sabha constituency. Thus, today’s visit is likely to improve Congress prospects in more than one constituency.

Today’s meeting at Hansi held a special significance for Congress MP from Rohtak Deepender Hooda. Sonia Gandhi blessed the young MP at her meeting in Hansi.

Sirsa, April 30
With the mercury hovering around 44°C, the political temperature has also hot up in the Sirsa parliamentary seat, where the Congress is trying to repeat its feat of 2004 parliamentary elections, while the opposition INLD has been leaving no stones unturned to wrest back the seat it lost to the ruling party last time.

Besides Congress nominee Ashok Tanwar and INLD nominee Sita Ram, HJC candidate Rajinder Dhanak, BSP’s Rajesh Vaid and CPM’s Ram Kumar are also adding heat to the already hot poll scenario.

Ashok Tanwar, who got party ticket for his proximity to AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi, is pinning his hopes on the success of latter’s rally here tomorrow.

Chief Minister B S Hooda, who was here to ensure success of the rally, has assigned duties to bring people for the rally.

“The rally will decide the fate of this election as we have been receiving huge response of people from the area,” said Ranjit Singh, deputy chairman of the state planning commission, who has been mobilising support for the rally.

Earlier, Hooda has campaigned thrice, while Venod Sharma has also campaigned in this constituency.

Former Chief Minister Om Parkash Chautala, who has campaigned for INLD nominee Sita Ram, is making a fervent appeal to the voters to return the INLD candidate so that the party could form the next government in the state.

Sirsa is home district of Chautala.

Besides the former Chief Minister, his younger son Abhey Singh has been campaigning almost continuously ever since the election process has begun.

The party is also planning rallies of senior BJP leaders and proposal has been sent to bring BJP president Rajnath Singh, Gujarat Chief Minister Narender Modi and senior leader Sushma Swaraj to Sirsa, according to the INLD sources.

Kuldeep Bishnoi set the momentum of HJC nominee Rajinder Dhanak’s poll campaign, which was earlier, a low-key affair.

The CPM also organised rallies at Sirsa and Fatehabad today, which were addressed by party’s central committee member MK Pandhe.

Karnal, April 30
Campaigning in sleepy village of Ariapura was nothing less than a nightmare for sitting Congress MP Arvind Sharma, who faced the wrath of angry villagers and not allowed entry into the village. The villagers were furious over police inaction in tracing a girl “kidnapped” from the village by some residents of Panodi village. Cases registered against 75 villagers who held protest against the police on April 14 last.

The girl was reportedly on her way from Ariapura to Ghraunda to meet her aunt when she was kidnapped. Agitated villagers gheraoed and ransacked the police station injuring an ASI.

The villagers had decided not to let any political leader enter the village for campaigning and even boycott the poll as no political party had stood with them. They were also demanded withdrawal of the cases against them and sought action against the people named in the complaint.

The villagers led by brother-in-law of the Sarpanch, Rita Devi, decided that they would boycott the elections and not allow the officials to bring any election material like EVM machines and other stuff in the village. However, the media advisor of the MP refuted the reports that he was obstructed from entering the village and claimed that Sharma left the village on his own, respecting the feelings of the people.

The Ghraunda police had registered cases against 75 villagers in connection with violent incidents on April 14 and its repercussions were felt after a fortnight.