Karnal, October 2
With bickering coming to the fore following the allotment of Congress ticket and BSP in a disarray, the INLD is hoping to make major gains in Karnal district, especially in Nilokheri (SC), Gharunda and Indri segments.

After breaking of alliance with BJP, the party was concentrating on the areas where BJP and HJC are cutting into each other’s vote bank, and BSP weaning Dalits and backward classes away from Congress. The INLD was banking heavily of infighting in Congress and unfulfilled promises.

Senior party leader Ajay Chautala, who was here to campaign in Gharunda, Indri and Nilokheri assembly constituencies today, said that breaking of INLD-BJP and BSP-HJC alliances had made the contest five cornered, and it was impossible for Congress to repeat the performance of Lok Sabha polls when it won 9 out of 10 seats.

“The INLD vote bank is solid and intact and the breaking of alliance with the BJP will only harm the latter,” he claimed at Nilokheri.

Promising special package for the areas allegedly facing discrimination under Congress regime, he said the Congress got the support of Haryana Sikhs and misguided the Sikh community by including separate gurdwara committee for the state in its manifesto.

However, the Sikhs were back into the INLD fold and alliance with SAD would further consolidate the Sikh vote in favour of the party, especially in Karnal, Kurukshetra, Sirsa and Ambala, he claimed.

The failure of the Congress government to implement the poll promise to regularise the land pattas would also cost congress dear, he observed.

Lashing out at the Government for discriminating against North Haryana, perpetual power crises, price rise and employment, he said that the people would give a befitting reply to Congress in the ensuing Assembly poll.

Dubbing the former MP Kailasho Saini and veteran leader Sampat Singh as ‘turn-coats’, Chautala said that people of Haryana would repeat the history and teach a lesson to “Gaddars” for betraying the INLD.

Panchkula, October 2
With no major election issue, dissidents, candidates’ personality, traditional vote bank and the caste factor are expected to play a major role in the Panchkula and Kalka seats in the assembly elections.

While all main parties are facing dissidence over the choice of candidates, rebels in the Congress are giving sleepless nights to party candidates DK Bansal and Satwinder Singh Rana from Panchkula and Kalka, respectively, labelling them as outsiders. In fact, the two candidates have not been able to hold even a single successful rally in their areas, being considered a safe bet for the Congress till recently.

In Panchkula, while local Congress leaders, who were hoping that lady luck would smile on one of them after the exodus of Chander Mohan from the political scene, have preferred to abstain from campaigning for Bansal, one of the dissidents, Shashi Sharma, has defected to the HJC, the party which has been striving for survival in the district since its candidate in the Lok Sabha elections, Dalvir Singh, had barely managed 8,000 votes.

Sharma, who remained in charge of 11 poll campaigns in the past, is likely to make a big dent in the vote bank of the Congress, which got a lead of only 5,899 votes in the Panchkula segment over BJP-INLD candidate Ratan Lal Kataria during the parliamentary elections.

On the other hand, Bansal, sitting MLA from Ambala, who is facing opposition from his party men in Panchkula, cannot rely on the caste factor as BJP candidate Gian Chand Gupta, who has been working in the area for quite some time, is expected to influence a majority of the Aggarwal votes, which form a substantial part of the total 1,47,000 votes.

The Panchkula segment has over 20,000 Aggarwal votes. Gupta, however, cannot bank on this factor alone as he has also failed to get the support of local leaders, who have not been accompanying him during campaigning.

The INLD, which has preferred to field a new face by roping in cricketer-cum-actor Yograj who was initially facing dissidence from locals, is now depending upon its rural vote bank. Besides, Yograj’s son Yuvraj Singh is expected to give a fillip to his campaign.

Harinder Singh Saini, a former BJP councillor who is contesting as an Independent, is another worry for the Congress. Saini, a native of Bihar who resides in the local Indira Colony, had reached with thousands of supporters to file nomination papers and is expected to harm the vote bank of the ruling party, which had a clout in the slums of the town.

Fifteen candidates, including Sanjeev Bhardwaj of the BSP, Rajesh Arya of the Lok Janshakti Party, DK Saxena of the Panthers Party, and Narayan Das of the Lokpriya Samaj Party, are in the fray. In Kalka, Congress candidate Satwinder Singh Rana, sitting MLA from Rajound, is facing a tough fight from Pradeep Chaudhary of the INLD, Ram Gopal Mehta of the HJC and Virender Singh of the BJP.

The denial of the ticket by the Congress to Bhagat Singh, son of former MP Lachchman Singh, who is now contesting as an Independent, has added to the worries of the party. BSP candidate Vijay Bansal, former secretary of the state unit of the Congress, is also likely to make it more difficult for Rana.

Hisar, October 2
Campaigning for the forthcoming Vidhan Sabha poll has so far been uncharacteristically subdued in the state. The last-minute nomination of candidates by various parties, especially the Congress, is one major reason for the slow start. Similarly, the delay in releasing manifestos has also contributed to the sluggishness.

In many constituencies where the Congress transferred its candidates from their original constituencies, resentment against such “imposed” candidates among local Congressmen also led to delayed starts to campaign. Notable among them were Kalka, Panchkula and Sohna.

In districts like Hisar where most parties chose to field greenhorns, the candidates took their time in organising their supporters and enrolling experienced poll managers to manage their campaigns.

Over the years the rising cost of campaigning and the tabs by the Election Commission on the expenses have forced candidates to devote their resources to the last week of campaigning which is crucial to win over undecided voters. That practically means a sluggish campaign in the first week or so of campaigning.

A tour of the countryside in this and neighbouring districts revealed that unlike in the last assembly poll, few houses have party flags fluttering from makeshift flag staffs on the rooftops. However, in some key constituencies like Nalwa, there were more flags.

Because of the strict ban on pasting posters and affixing banners on public property, candidates have drastically cut their print orders for colour posters. Instead, they now prefer screen printed large banners which can be affixed at designated points.

However, campaigning has pushed up sales of white khadi cloth across khadi stores in Haryana. The local Khadi Bhandar has posted a 60 per cent rise in sales of white khadi cloth of different varieties.

This can only be attributed to the poll since at this time of the year, people prefer to buy khadi silk for the approaching winter rather than cotton khadi.

Likewise, sports shoes, especially white shoes, are in great demand as these go well with white khadi kurta pyjama. The past few years have seen the youth opting for sports shoes in place of the traditional desi jutti. Upmarket branded sports shoe stores are witnessing brisk sales in the view of the elections.

The state’s highways have become safer these days as candidates have hired illegally plying jeeps and maxi-cabs for campaigning.

These vehicles are a big traffic nuisance on state and national highways because their drivers flout all traffic laws in order to make more trips. Over 50 per cent of road accidents in Haryana involve these vehicles. 

Chandigarh, October 2
Haryana remains in the shackles of dynastic politics. Eleven candidates from three influential Lal families are contesting nine seats in the October 13 elections. It also bears the stamp of caste politics with almost all major political parties taking pains to project how fair they have been to different religions and castes in granting the party ticket.

The Lals - Bansi Lal, Devi Lal and Bhajan Lal - have ruled the state for more than 30 years after the reorganisation of the state on November 1, 1966. Though Bansi Lal and Devi Lal are no more, the legacy of the Lals lives on. This elections, Devi Lal’s family tops the list with six candidates in the fray, four of them from Dabwali alone. 

Besides former Chief Minister and president of the INLD Om Prakash Chautala, who is contesting from both Uchana Kalan in Jind and Ellenabad in Sirsa, the Devi Lal family has Ajay Chautala, a sitting member of the Rajya Sabha, locked in a quadrangular family contest in Dabwali.Representing his father’s INLD, he faces his uncle KV Singh, an aide to Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, besides his cousin Ravinder Singh Chautala, a rebel Congress candidate, and Kuldip Bhambo of the Haryana Janhit Congress. Both KV Singh and Bhambo belong to the Devi Lal family.Dabwali was a reserve constituency until the last assembly elections.

This time, besides four members from the Devi Lal’s family, it has 10 candidates in the fray, including Jagdev Singh of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). The latter has forged an alliance with the INLD for the elections. Though the SAD has announced only two candidates - Charanjeet Kaur from Ambala city and Charanjit Singh from Kalanwali - the official list of candidates also mentions SAD’s Jagdev Singh from the Dabwali constituency.

Bhajan Lal, the only non-Congress Lok Sabha member from Haryana, has his wife Jasma Devi in the running from the Nalwa assembly constituency where she faces former finance minister in the Chautala government Prof Sampat Singh who parted ways with the INLD and joined the Congress only a couple of months ago.

Bhajan Lal’s younger son, Kuldip Bishnoi, is contesting from Adampur. Both Jasma Devi and Kuldip Bishnoi are candidates of the Haryana Janhit Congress. Kuldip’s elder brother, Chander Mohan, alias Chand Mohammed, who represented Panchkula in the outgoing assembly, was denied the Congress ticket.

There are three contestants from the Bansi Lal family. His daughter-in-law Kiran Chaudhry, tourism minister in the Hooda government, will be defending her Tosham seat. Her estranged brother-in-law Ranbir Singh is contesting on the Congress ticket from Badhra while his brother-in-law Somvir Singh is defending his Loharu seat.

Chandigarh, October 2
The “transplantation” experiment of the Haryana Congress seems to be not working. Those MLAs, who have been fielded by the party from constituencies other than their traditional constituencies, are finding the going tough in the new areas so far.

They are facing hostility not only from their own party men, who feel that they have been deprived of their rights by the party, but also a not-so-warm reception from the electorate. In a bid to keep all factions in the party happy, the Congress high command in its wisdom fielded many of those MLAs, whose constituencies were abolished in the delimitation, from some other areas.

Some of the MLAs, like former Chief Parliamentary Secretary Dharambir Singh, out of their old constituencies because one or the other faction leader did not want them to contest from their supposed area of influence.

D.K. Bansal, who has been shifted from Ambala cantt. to Panchkula, is yet to start campaigning in the right spirit. Local Congressmen are finding it hard to accept him. Similarly Satvinder Rana, who lost his Rajound seat in the delimitation, got the ticket from Kalka, but he is finding the water too hot to swim.

According to the reports received here, a minister in the Hooda Cabinet, Meena Mandal, who had no constituency to contest from after the delimitation, is not so comfortable in her new constituency, Nilokheri, in Karnal district.

Geeta Bhukkal, whose constituency, Kalayat, has been declared as a general seat, is comparatively lucky. She has got the ticket from Jhajjar, which is part of the Rohtak parliamentary seat, represented by Deepender Hooda, son of the Chief Minister.

The victory of Bhukkal, therefore, is a prestige issue for the Hoodas, whose supporters are extending cooperation to her. A former minister Chhattar Pal Singh, who lost his constituency of Ghirai to the delimitation, is now contesting from Hansi, where he is believed to be getting cold reception so far.

Chandigarh, October 2
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has made it clear that it is for the government to decide whether to fill up vacant posts and a “recommended” candidate cannot claim appointment as of right.

The ruling by Justice SD Anand came on a petition filed by Ram Datt against the state of Haryana and another respondents. The Haryana Subordinate Staff Services Selection Board recommended his name for appointment as agriculture development officer (ADO) in 1990, but appointment letter was not issued to him as “there is no vacant post”.

The respondents claimed the petitioner’s name appeared at serial number 106 in the list of candidates recommended for the appointment. But candidates up to serial number 104 were appointed. Justice Anand asserted: “There is a precise averment by the respondents that the petitioner could not be appointed for want of a vacancy. It is not the plea on behalf of the petitioner that any one junior to him in the list forwarded by the board had been appointed.”

“No mandate can be issued to the government to appoint a particular candidate or to fill up a particular vacancy. It is the prerogative of the government to fill up a particular vacancy or to decide that it will not be fill up. No recommended candidate can claim appointment as of right.”

“However, a right to claim accrues to that candidate the moment a junior to him in the list of recommended candidates is appointed. If that were so, the eventuality would have impelled this court to issue direction for the appointment of the petitioner as well. However, there is not even a word in the petition that any candidate junior to the petitioner had been appointed to the post of ADO.”

Dismissing the petition, Justice Anand ruled: “There could be variety of reasons on account whereof the government may not like to appoint the candidates recommended by the board. The reasons for refrain in the relevant behalf could well include financial stringency, too. It is only when a junior recommended candidates is appointed, that one senior to him could raise a plea of discrimination, which is not so in the present case.”

“In view of the fact that board recommended candidates far in excess of the requisition, that no vacant post is presently available for appointment of the petitioner and further that it is not even the plea on behalf of the petitioner that any one junior to him had been appointed, the petition is held to be denuded of merit and shall stand dismissed accordingly.”

Sirsa/Fatehabad, October 2
Two Independent candidates, one contesting from Sirsa and the other from Fatehabad, have forged a unique alliance and have decided to work for each other in their respective constituencies.

MDLR chairman Gopal Kanda, who is contesting as Independent from the Sirsa assembly seat, and Congress rebel Pahlad Singh Gillankhera, who is contesting as Independent from Fatehabad, have announced that they would work for the victory of each other.

Popular with Agarwal community voters, Kanda has been making liberal donations during social and religious functions. “Kanda will address election rallies of Gillankhera, whenever he will like us to be with him in Fatehabad,” said Gobind Kanda, brother of Gopal Kanda.

Gillankhera, who had contested twice from the Darba seat on the Haryana Vikas Party in the past, has reciprocally announced to work for Kanda in Sirsa. 

Faridabad, October 2
Irked over the failure of the Haryana government to implement its own directive to the private schools not to raise fees, a large number of parents today staged demonstrations against the government and the school managements.

The parents blocked Neelam Chowk and the roads connecting it for about 10 minutes. The parents, who are agitating under the aegis of the Haryana School Abhivavak Ekta Manch, to press the government to make the schools follow its directive and roll back their decision to increase the fees, have also decided to take out a “Rath Yatra” during the election campaign and protest against nominees.

Ambala, October 2
The Deputy Commissioner today declared holidays in all private and public schools of the district from October 5 to October 13. The DC said action would be taken against any school found violating the orders.

Though no specific reason was stated in the orders issued today, sources in the administration said this had been done in the light of the recent swine flu incident and to ensure that panic did not spread among residents.Meanwhile, after the withdrawal of nomination papers, a total of 1,222 candidates are left in fray, 1,155 are male candidates and 67 female.

The highest number, 93 female candidates, contested elections in 1996. As many as 60 female candidates contested election in 2005, 41 in 1991, 35 in 1987, 27 in 1982, 20 in 1977, 12 each in 1972 and 1968 and eight in 1967. 

Ambala, October 2
INLD supremo Om Prakash Chautala today promised a slew of incentives for girls in the state. Addressing a gathering at Saha in support of his party candidate from Mullana (SC) Rajbir Brara, Chautala promised free gas and stove connection for women and free Scootys for girls.

“No girl will have to go to school or college by bus. She will get a battery-operated Scooty that will ensure her freedom of movement,” announced Chautala.

On the power situation in the state, he assured his supporters that electricity cuts could be a possibility in Japan and the US, but if voted to power, Haryana would see no power cuts.

The Congress, he alleged, had not fulfilled any promise. In its 2005 manifesto, it had assured jobs to 10 lakh youth and this election to only 2 lakh youth. Chautala assured farmers a fixed rate for sugarcane and wheat produce and a 50 per cent discount to government employees for purchase of wheat.

Brara said if voted to power, he would ensure adequate employment opportunities for the youth of the area.