Samalkha, October 10
AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi today gave more than an indication that Bhupinder Singh Hooda would be the Chief Minister if the Congress was voted back to power in the state.

Addressing a rally in support of Congress candidate from here Sanjay Chhokar, Rahul called upon the electorate to vote the Congress back to power so that Dr Manmohan Singh at the Centre and Hooda at the state level could work together for the welfare of the people.

He said the Congress promoted the welfare of the “aam aadmi”, while the rival parties believed in dividing the country on the basis of rich and poor categories. He claimed that the Congress was the only party that had always stood for the common man.

Having a dig at the rival parties, he said these had derived slogans from TV commercials, while the slogans of the Congress were endorsed by the common man as these came from “the huts of the poor”.

Striking a chord with farmers, Rahul said cultivators were the backbone of the nation on whose strength the country was making progress by leaps and bounds. Inducing fresh energy into the youth wing of the Congress, Rahul said future leaders of the party would come from villages and only those who worked in villages to strengthen the party would achieve “high ranks”.

Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda appealed to the masses to weigh the Congress and other parties on the basis of their policies, objectives and leadership before voting in the elections. He also targeting opposition parties over the “fragile alliances” formed by them. He said it would not be possible for the parties, which could not forge stable alliances, to rule the state after the elections.

Ambala, October 10
Lashing out at the Congress for its air castles and false claims, BJP leader and Amritsar MP Navjot Singh Sidhu today urged the masses to vote for a change and for a cause.

“Every one vote makes a difference and every one vote will ensure a better future of India, which lies in the hands of the BJP,” he said.

Sidhu, who was accompanied by national president of the BJP youth wing Amit Thaker and Hamirpur MP Anurag Thakur, took out a road show in favour of the party candidate from Ambala City, Dr Sanjay Sharma.

Sidhu said the Centre had become synonymous to terror attacks.

“Even the security forces are not safe in the country, not to speak of the common man. There is panicky among the masses. People are bereft of their very fundamental right to live in peace and harmony,” added Sidhu.

Questioning the Congress claims of giant GDP growth, Sidhu reasoned that these so-called parameters of development at the national level had failed to percolate down through 85 per cent of the common masses.

“The Congress lost more than 80 per cent of byelections held in Gujarat, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh. It proves that the web of mirage it wove during the general elections has lost its sheen,” he said.

Ambala, October 10
The district administration today stopped the gunmen accompanying Punjab MLAs from entering Ambala City.

Deputy Commissioner-cum-district election officer Sameer Pal Srow stopped the gunmen at Kingfisher tourist complex and HUDA grounds in Sector 8 here.

He said according to the Election Commission, only those with Z or Z plus security were permitted to have their own security. However, it was observed that gunmen of other officials were also present.

However, members of the Akali Dal have termed this as an insult to the uniform of the security personnel. According to the SAD, gunmen of Seva Singh Sekhwan, MLA and former Revenue Minister, Lakkhwir Singh, Kadian MLA, Jagjeevan Singh, Samrala MLA, and Prem Singh Chandumajra, former MP general secretary of the party, were stopped. “The government is trying to pressurise us, they are scared. If they have any objection then they should provide alternate security,” said Dr Daljeet Singh Cheema, SAD spokesperson.

Gurgaon, October 10
Ever since the winds of development began to sweep this district located in southern Haryana, its residents were divided into two distinct categories: Old Gurgaon and new Gurgaon. As the progress picked up pace, the distinction became clearer and sharper.

As of now, the residents of both “Gurgaons” have their own sets of grievances, but there is nobody they can look up to for their redress.

The residents of old Gurgaon suffer practically everyday due to poor infrastructure, lack of basic civic amenities, grossly insufficient and inefficient public transport, erratic supply of water and electricity, bad roads and sewerage, rampant encroachments and so on. On the other hand, the denizens of the new Gurgaon city face multifarious problems like nagging traffic jams, parking blues, security concerns and haphazard development.

Besides, the issue of garbage disposal, deplorable condition of buildings like bus stand, civil hospital, judicial complex and other government offices are common to the residents of both “Gurgaons”.

Gurgaon contributes as much as 46 per cent of revenue to the state exchequer. Moreover, given the cosmopolitan character of the city, a big chunk of its residents are aware and educated and have a fine understanding of these matters of general concern.

Still, no political party of the state government has taken up the cudgels to give Gurgaon its due share in development. Thanks to this, the contrast between the infrastructure developed by private builders and multinational companies and that done by the government bodies is too glaring for anyone to miss.

While the civic bodies like the Gurgaon Municipal Corporation have so far failed to deliver the goods these were meant for, the multiplicity of authority at the local level and callous attitude of the state authorities are there to blame.

Yamunanagar, October 10
Skipping local issues, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav today described the BJP as a communal force and asked people not to vote for it.

“I have supported the Congress-led UPA government to curb communal forces dividing the citizens,” he added. However, he criticised the Centre for its failure to control price rise.

“We are facing threat from neighbouring countries as well as internal communal forces,” he said while addressing a gathering at Thapar grounds here today.

He was campaigning for RJD candidate Harjinder Singh.

On being asked about the RJD’s poor performance in the Lok Sabha elections, he said: “Jab tak aaloo rahega, tab tak Laloo rahega.” The RJD will again emerge as a major force, he added.

He alleged that the RJD candidate from Yamunanagar was threatened not to contest the elections.

GURGAON: Lalu Prasad Yadav on Saturday said people should not vote for the party (BJP) that seeks vote in the name of religion.

Yadav was here to campaign for party candidate Ram Avatar Yadav.

Hisar, October 10
The First Lady of the Bhajan Lal clan, Jasma Devi, and former Finance Minister Sampat Singh, now in the Congress, are locked in a gripping contest in the newly created Nalwa assembly segment in this district.

This constituency comprises parts of the old Adampur assembly segment, Hisar town, several areas of the Bawani Khera and the erstwhile Ghirai assembly segment. Despite the amalgamation of rural and urban areas, the constituency is geographically compact.

The reason why Jasma Devi is here as the Haryana Janhit Congress (BL) candidate is that about 33 per cent of the villages in the constituency were earlier part of her husband Bhajan Lal’s pocket borough Adampur. That is her main strength in the contest.

Sampat Singh had lost his original constituency Bhattu Kalan to delimitation. He contested the byelection from the Adampur constituency in 2008 against Bhajan Lal as the INLD candidate and lost. Again he tried his luck against Bhajan Lal in the May Lok Sabha poll from Hisar and lost narrowly. Immediately thereafter he quit the INLD and joined the Congress which has fielded him from Nalwa. The INLD has put up Ranvir Singh Gangwa.

In view of the importance of the contest for the two main rivals, a lot of dirty politics is at play. There is talk of collusion between Bhajan Lal and Om Prakash Chautala in a bid to defeat Sampat Singh. This alleged pact is known in local parlance as “Jasma-Chashma Samjhauta”. Chashma (spectacles) is the INLD poll symbol. Sampat Singh admits as much. “There has always been an unholy alliance between Bhajan Lal and Chautala. It is evident here too. But, I have faced that before and will battle it out, this time too,” he says.

Another allegedly secret pact is making the rounds. It’s called “Tu meri mummy ko jita, main teri mummy ko jitaunga”. The reference is to Jasma Devi’s son Kuldeep Bishnoi and Congress MP Naveen Jindal whose mother is contesting the Hisar seat. The Jindals hail from Nalwa and thus have influence in the area. Whether it is just an example of typical Haryanvi humour or real is unclear.

The family members of both main rivals are actively campaigning here. For Jasma Devi, Bhajan Lal, Kuldeep and his wife Renuka have campaigned vigorously. For Sampat Singh, wife Krishna Singh and his elder son have toured the area extensively. Issues have taken a back seat in this constituency.

The only point of interest is who will survive this tough battle. If Jasma loses, it will be an embarrassing setback for the Bhajan Lal family. Should Sampat Singh lose, this will be his fourth electoral defeat in a row which would practically finish his long political career.

The neighbouring Bawani Khera reserved constituency is witnessing an equally keen contest. Ram Kishen Fauji, sitting Congress MLA, is pitted against Azad Singh Balmiki of the INLD, Mahendra Odh of the HJC and Jai Narain of the BJP.

Narnaund (Hisar), October 10
Bharatiya Janata Party chief Rajnath Singh today described the Congress and inflation as synonymous. Addressing an election meeting here, he said it was strange that as the world wrestled with unprecedented economic recession, India was facing the highest inflation rates ever.

He said economic policies, mismanagement and corruption were the three main reasons for the price rise. The Congress had failed to manage the economy properly much to the chagrin of the general public.

He said by advancing the assembly elections, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had committed a grave mistake. The Congress was unlikely to get even a simple majority. The decision to advance the elections was guided by overconfidence.

The BJP leader said if the Congress was that much confident of a win in the assembly elections, it should have sought the assembly poll with the Lok Sabha elections. That would have saved the state a lot of money. He said farmers continued to be neglected in the country and their economic condition was deteriorating.