Chandigarh, April 11
The Lok Sabha election results in Haryana against the backdrop of the unusually high voter turnout are set to re-define the political contours in the state ahead of the Assembly elections this year.

With stakes for all political parties, including the ruling Congress and the main opposition INLD, high, the election results will decide the political future of the prominent leaders in the state.

In fact, stakes are higher for Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who emerged as the star campaigner of the Congress. Against the backdrop of his close confidant and Ambala MLA Venod Sharma’s exit from the Congress and certain MLAs getting ‘restive’, the election results would be crucial for the survival of the Hooda government post-May 16 when the Lok Sabha election results are announced.

Traditionally, high voter participation had been associated with anti-incumbency.

The Hooda government faced twin anti-incumbency against the Congress-led UPA government and state government. This time around, the election results would also decide the timing of the state Assembly elections, which are otherwise due for September-October.

For the main Opposition INLD, which had been out of power for almost 10 years and its supremo Om Prakash Chautala in jail, it is a make-or-break election. A good showing in the elections would naturally enthuse the party cadre and brighten the prospects of the INLD-BJP alliance in the run-up to the state Assembly elections.

The future of the BJP-HJC alliance also hinges on the election results. While the BJP went to the poll riding the ‘Modi wave’, its alliance partner HJC banked heavily on the polarisation of the anti-Jat votes in its favour. In fact, a win or loss from Hisar would have major impact on the political future of HJC supremo Kuldeep Bishnoi.

For the debutant AAP, the polling percentage in its favour would show how far it had been able to transcend the caste barrier in a traditionally caste-ridden Haryana polity. This would also show whether there are any takers for AAP’s ideology of clean politics and transparent governance in Haryana.

Stakes high for Hooda government

Stakes are higher for Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who emerged as the star campaigner of the Congress. Against the backdrop of his close confidant and Ambala MLA Venod Sharma’s exit from the Congress and certain MLAs getting ‘restive’, the election results would be crucial for the survival of the Hooda government post-May 16 when the Lok Sabha election results are announced.

Sirsa, April 11
State Congress chief Ashok Tanwar is confident of his party getting a majority of seats in the state this time. Speaking to The Tribune today, a day after polling of votes, Tanwar said voters had voted for people-friendly policies of the UPA Government at the Centre and the Congress Government in the state.

Looking relaxed in a casual dress, Tanwar claimed he would himself win from Sirsa, a seat he had been representing since 2009.

When his attention was drawn to speculations by the ‘satta’ bazaar (betting market), which is giving only one seat to the ruling party, Tanwar maintained that ‘satta’ rates were manipulated by the vested interests and they had never matched reality.

He added that some politicians of the opposition parties had manipulated the betting market by investing money on bets in their favour.

He regretted that despite claims of free and fair conduct of polls by the Election Commission, money had played a vital role in manipulating people’s verdict.

He also suggested stern measures against paid news and “fake newspapers”, being published at the local levels with no credibility, which try to harm the electoral prospects of candidates at the behest of their sponsors.

Answering a question, Tanwar denied there was any Modi wave in the country, as being projected in the media, and said people voted for issues and ideologies not in the name of a person.

Hisar, April 11
Congress candidate from Hisar Sampat Singh has alleged that two big political empires had fixed the electoral match, which was hijacked by politics of casteism, while conceding his defeat even before the counting of votes.

In a message circulated on WhatsApp, a social networking site today, Singh, while apologising to the electorate, said "Sorry, ladies and gentlemen, I could not save your election which has been hijacked by the politics of castiesm and fixing by two big empires of Haryana", with a clear reference to a direct clash between scions of the Bhajan Lal and Devi Lal families - Kuldeep Bishnoi and Dushyant Chautala and almost ruled himself out of the contest. He vowed to make a comeback and stated, "Never mind, I am with you. I will never allow anybody to let you down. I am always with you through thick and thin". —TNS

Kurukshetra, April 11
The high turnout has increased the curiosity of major political parties like the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), with all of them expecting an election result in their favour.

Even though the turnout improved marginally by 0.7 per cent over the polling percentage in the General Election in 2009, it was still below than what the constituency had achieved in 1977.

Kurukshetra was leading in terms of voter turnout from the first hour and maintained its lead till 7 pm, but lost in the final count and dropped to the third position with 76.1 per cent.

Data provided by the election department said of the 14,93,283 eligible voters, a total of 11,35,964 exercised their franchise at 1,542 polling booths.

The highest polling was recorded in Radaur (80 per cent), followed by Ladwa (79.6 per cent), Shahabad (79.3 per cent), Pehowa (77.6 per cent), Gulha (74.9 per cent), Kaithal (74.5 per cent), Thanesar (73.3 per cent), Kalayat (73.1 per cent) and Pundri (72.8 per cent).

Sitting MP Naveen Jindal of the Congress said, “The heavy turnout was the result of the good performance of the Congress. I am confident that the party will come to power for the third consecutive time.”

State INLD chief Ashok Arora said, “The support from all quarters for the INLD and the anti-Congress wave led to such a heavy turnout. The party will score a comprehensive win.”

District BJP chief Dhuman Singh Kirmach said, “There was a Narendra Modi wave and an anti-Congress wave. The party is confident that people have given their mandate in favour of the BJP.”

While some were assessing their performance, a large number of leaders and party workers switched off their mobile phones and spent time with their families after a hectic schedule.

Jind, April 11
The Jind district administration has made adequate security arrangements at Arjun Stadium and kept all EVMs of the Sonepat parliamentary constituency in three strongrooms. The administration has made three-tier security arrangements for the EVMs.

Officials of the Border Security Force have been deputed in the first tier, commandos of the Haryana Police in the second tier and personnel of the Haryana Police in the third tier. The administration has got CCTVs installed to prevent any untoward incident. Senior officers of the Jind administration have been making repeated inspections of the stadium.

Deputy Commissioner-cum-district electoral officer Rajiv Rattan said the administration had kept Safidon EVMs in the gymnastic hall strongroom, Jind EVMs in the multi-purpose hall strongroom and Julana EVMs in the third strongroom. All EVMs were kept in the strongrooms under observation of election observer Rakesh Batas.

EVMs of the Narwana Assembly segment under the Sirsa parliamentary constituency were kept at the college in Bhodiakhera village of Fatehabad district. EVMs of Uchana Kalan under the Hisar parliamentary constituency were kept at Mahavir Stadium in Hisar. 

Panipat, April 11
Several voters opted for the NOTA (none of the above) option introduced for the first time in the parliamentary elections this time. Having opted for NOTA, convener of Samaan Nagrik Sanhita NC Jain, a resident of Bishan Sarun Colony in Panipat, said: "I have used the option NOTA as the candidates of the three main parties are outsiders.

While the BJP candidate is from Delhi, the Congress nominee hails from Jhajjar and the INLD contestant is from Pehowa in Kurukshetra. The question arises why these political parties fail to find eligible candidates amongst 16 lakh Karnal voters."

Meanwhile, several voters faced difficulties in locating their booths as many booth-level officers (BLOs) had not delivered voter slips at the houses of voters. Leading anaesthetist SC Pahwa of Bishan Sarup Colony told The Tribune: "The BLO did not give deliver the voter slip at my place. In the absence of any voter slip, it took me one hour to find my polling station."

Rohtak, April 11
A low voting percentage is set to give sleepless nights to the aspiring MPs and their supporters, especially in view of the long gap between the casting and counting of votes.

As against the target of 80 per cent voting fixed by the local administration, merely 67.7 per cent electors of the Rohtak Lok Sabha constituency exercised their right to vote.

The Rohtak Assembly segment of the parliamentary constituency, which has been the traditional stronghold of the Hooda clan represented by incumbent MP Deepender Hooda and his father and Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, registered the lowest polling of 64.3 per cent.

This, coupled with the considerable clout exhibited by AAP candidate Naveen Jaihind, can be a cause of concern for the Congress candidate. The BJP nominee also cannot breathe easy as the low voting generally indicates that the electors are not much keen for change.

On the other hand, the highest turnout of the Meham Assembly constituency at 73.9 per cent will be an indicator of the time to come for the Congress as well as INLD candidate Shamsher Kharkara, who aspires to contest the Assembly seat in the coming elections.

Simultaneously, the results thrown up the Kosli, Bahadurgarh, Beri, Badli, Jhajjar and Kalanaur Assembly segments are also likely to dispel many a misconception among politicians of different hues.

As of now, the wannabe MPs and their sidekicks are engaged in hectic analysis of the outcome of the informal “exit poll” surveys. After the conclusion of the voting process, the electronic voting machines (EVMs) used for the purpose have been sealed in a strong-room along with the relevant documents.

Dr Amit Kumar Agarwal, Rohtak Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Election Officer, said the strong-room had a double-lock system one key of which was with the strong-room in charge and the other with an ADM-rank officer.

Three-tier security arrangements have been made for protection of the strong-room. The strong-room is being guarded round-the-clock by the Central Armed Police Force and was under 24-hour CCTV surveillance. Uninterrupted power supply to the premises has also been ensured.

A control-room has also been set up beside the strong-room, where a gazetted officer will be present along with a police officer day and night.

Candidates and their representatives were present at the time of sealing of the control-room and their signatures were taken on the seal. They would also be present at the time of removal of the seal for counting of votes and the entire process would be videographed. 

Gurgaon, April 11
Tension gripped in Punhana village of Mewat today following a clash yesterday. The village shut down as markets, schools and banks were closed. Villagers remained confined to their homes. School buses and private transport vehicles stayed off road. Around 400 security personnel were deployed to ensure that there was no untoward incident.

There were repeated clashes between supporters of BJP candidate Inderjeet and INLD nominee Zakir yesterday, which left 15 persons injured.

Initially Zakir's supporters allegedly thrashed Inderjeet's supporters outside a polling booth. The rival group reportedly avenged the attack in the evening.

Members of both communities wanted the police to take action against their opponents. Mewat SP Anil Dhawan has deployed around 400 personnel and ordered a flag march.

The communities held seperate panchayats and issuing diktats. "Any person found buying goods from the shop of a person of the other community will have to pay Rs 50,000," read one diktat.

The police said things were under control. "The situation is sensitive, but things are under control. The clash has snowballed into a major controversy," the SP said.

"We are talking to representatives of both communities to arrive at a compromise. Anti-social elements are trying to fan communal sentiments, but we are keeping an eye on them," he added.

Chandigarh, April 11
Opposing the ‘discrepancies’ of the National Capital Region Board (NCRB) in marking the National Conservation Zones (NCZ), the Haryana Government has decided to take on the officials at a meeting of the board, slated for tomorrow in Delhi.

In a communication to the Member Secretary of the NCRB, the state has not only condemned the board officials for “abetting a misinformation campaign” but also enclosed a list of 45 “discrepancies” by virtue of which land under on-going projects /institutions had been shown to be under the NCZ.

Sources said the list of such projects submitted to the board included the International Fruit and Vegetable Market in Ganaur, at least six national institutes, including the IIM, Rohtak, AIIMS-II, Jhajjar, National Brain Research Centre, Manesar and the Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership, Jhajjar, besides a number of government buildings and educational institutions.

Officials of the Town and Country Planning Department said the board, based on satellite imagery of these areas, had indiscriminately marked the land meant for these projects as NCZ in the proposed land use plan.

The letter mentioned that shrubs and grass had grown or slight depressions had formed on these tracts of land since no activity was being carried out at the places for some time.

Maintaining that this had been done in total disregard of the principles laid down in the regional plan itself, the officials pointed out that in many cases the NCZ were within thickly populated areas and were largely owned by private individuals. Resulting in harassment to the individuals, the stringent NCZ rules would make even construction of a private house impossible if this anomaly was not corrected.

While reiterating its commitment to preserving the environment and mentioning a number of steps already initiated in this regard, the government in its letter, has also suggested that a team of experts, drawn from the NRSC, the NCRB and of the constituent states of NCR, be constituted to carry out a detailed physical ground verification for finalising the demarcation of NCZ areas in the Land Use Plan of Final Regional Plan, 2021. 

Sirsa, April 11
A day after the state went to the polls, three main contenders from Sirsa parliamentary seat spent their day meeting people and unwinding. Kothi No 1 in Sector 20 of HUDA, Sirsa, Congress candidate Ashok Tanwar’s private residence, gave a rather deserted loot at 10 am when The Tribune went there to know how he was relaxing.

The usual sight of parked vehicles and people going in and coming out of the house was missing.

A security guard, sitting with two other persons inside the main gate, said Tanwar was away and would come only after 12 noon.

Upstairs, a servant said he was taking bath and will take some time to get ready.

The state Congress chief and sitting MP from Sirsa, Tanwar appeared in a few minutes and said he had to attend a meeting in the DC office on poll-related issues.

“Please drop me at the mini-secretariat in your car and we will discuss the issues on the way,” he asked this correspondent.

After attending the meeting, Tanwar met people from the villages, who came to his residence in the afternoon with inputs about polling trends in their respective villages.

“I am in contest in towns as well as in the villages, while this is not the case with the INLD and the HJC nominees. If the INLD is in contest in villages, it is nowhere in towns. The reverse is true in case of the HJC,” he claimed.

He said he was not feeling tired from the hectic campaigning of over two weeks and was happy meeting his workers.

Charanjit Singh Rori, the INLD nominee, said he got up as usual at five in the morning at his Rori village residence and started his routine activities.

He was sarpanch of the village when party supremo O P Chautala fielded him from Kalanwali Assembly seat in 2009.

He was elected as MLA and now, he could well be elected MP, if his calculations prove right.

“Everybody in the constituency has been telling me that I have already won and many have already congratulated me,” he said.

Rori added that as per his calculations, he would win by a margin of over 1 lakh votes.

The HJC nominee, Sushil Indora, said he got up at 7 am at his Fatehabad residence today and after spending some time in his office he went to Sirsa to attend a meeting called by the election observer.

Indora later went to meet members of the District Bar Association.

“I am confident that I will win this election and the INLD would be relegated to the third position, as the party did not have any presence in the town, while I am winning from the town and have presence in all villages of the constituency,” Indora claimed.

Karnal, April 11
After days of hectic campaigning and polling, candidates of the Karnal parliament constituency today spent their time in a relaxed mood and discussed polling trends and future strategy with party workers.

Ashwini Kumar Chopra, BJP-HJC candidate, lost 10 kg in 15 days of campaigning. He weighed 88 kg when he started campaigning and now weighed 78 kg.

He was happy with his performance in the elections. He said, “I did not know the ABC of politics. I was like a boy who had been told to swim, but did not know how to do so.”

He said it was a challenge for him and he had accepted it with the consent of his wife Kiran Sharma Chopra. He woke up early this morning, as usual.

At 9 am, he reached Shri Krishna Mandir at Sector 14, where party workers gathered. He discussed polling trends in villages of the nine Assembly segments comprising the Karnal Lok Sabha seat.

His wife and son Aditya were present. He thanked workers for their support and efforts. After the meeting, Chopra left for Panipat to attend a workers' meeting.

Congress candidate Arvind Sharma woke up early, as usual. After breakfast, he met workers at Kamboj Dharamsala and discussed polling trends. He interacted with every worker and thanked them for support.

He said, “The fate is sealed in EVMs and the result will tell who the winner is, but I am thankful for the massive support the people have given me.”

INLD candidate Jaswinder Singh Sandhu woke up around 5 am and went to his farm. He spent time with his family at Pehowa and came to Karnal at 1:30 pm. He interacted with party workers from Karnal and Panipat.

BSP candidate Maratha Virender Verma spent a lot of time in his office and discussed polling trends. He said, “My voters are silent and will be a game-changer.”

Sonepat, April 11
A day after the elections in the state, it is time to relax for the candidates who had been campaigning of over three weeks.

Candidates of main political parties in the Sonepat parliamentary segment relaxed with their family members and friends today. However, curiously waiting for results to be declared on May 16, they also discussed the probable outcome with their party workers.

INLD candidate Padam Singh Dahiya relaxed at his residence in Sector 23 in Sonepat during the first half of the day. He later went to meet DC-cum-DRO Samir Pal Srow to thank him for conducting free and fair elections.

“Campaigning throws our routine life out of gear. I took a sound sleep of over six hours on Thursday night," Dahiya said.

On the other hand, BJP candidate Ramesh Kaushik relaxed for some time in the morning at his Sector 14 residence here. He left for Gohana, Jind and Safidon to meet his party workers. "I will go to Varanasi, Lucknow and Vidisha on April 14, where senior BJP leaders Narendra Modi, Rajnath Singh and Sushma Swaraj are contesting elections, respectively,” he said.

Congress candidate Jagbir Malik and AAP nominee Jai Singh Thekedar spent their time relaxing at their houses in Gohana.

Meeting party workers at his house, Malik said, “I have not distributed money or liquor to buy votes. Most of the party workers worked sincerely in campaigning and we will emerge victorious.”

Jai Singh said he would go to Varanasi where AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal was contesting against Narendra Modi.

Rohtak, April 11
The local unit of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has sought a repoll, alleging that the large-scale bogus voting had taken place during polling in the Rohtak constituency.

Addressing a press conference here today, AAP nominee for the Rohtak Lok Sabha constituency Naveen Jaihind complained that the Congress supporters had indulged in booth-capturing and bogus polling at several locations in Rohtak town while the election officials concerned remained mute spectators to the activities.

"Even the police and other security personnel deployed at the polling booths failed to prevent booth-capturing and bogus voting," he said, adding that perusal of the CCTV footage could establish the truth of his allegations.

Chandigarh, April 11
In an indictment of the lower judiciary, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has asserted that justice could easily be handed down at the trial court level in a large number of cases but for lack of judicial experience and due application of mind and foresight.

Justice Rajiv Narain Raina asserted: “I feel that in a large number of cases coming up before me and those that are pending before the Junior and Senior Division, from which interlocutory orders arise, justice could have been easily handed down at the trial court level but for due application of mind and lack of judicial experience and foresight since they are inducted when young…."

The indictment came on a petition by Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited against Sanjay Kumar and other respondents. The nigam had challenged an order dated December 9, 2013, passed by the Additional Civil Judge (Senior Division), Dadri, whereby its defence was struck off and the case for compensation in an electrocution matter was posted for the plaintiff's evidence.

Justice Raina asserted the words "defence is struck off" have not been used in Civil Procedure Code. “When repeated time and again these become part of the legal lexicon”.

Justice Raina cautioned: “Before such orders are issued, the trial court should introspect quickly and try to prophesize what the revising court might think when called upon to examine such an interlocutory order.”

“There is greater need for inculcating a spirit of liberality through self-education in the law, poise, and composure with no knee-jerk reactions, all the time assimilating virtues of kindness, compassion, and eagerness to learn from mistakes committed and with a spirit of enquiry to retread the path to justice….These attributes are heavily demanded from fledgling judges sitting in Junior Division…”

Allowing the petition by setting aside the impugned order, Justice Raina allowed the filing of a written statement, subject to the payment of 
~20, 000 as costs.

Jind, April 11
The shortage of migrant labour due to the ongoing general elections has compelled all Haryana farmers to offer alluring facilities to woo migrants for wheat harvesting, but offers as yet have not brought desired results. The state farmers have been witnessing acute labour shortage due to this.

The shortage has triggered an intense competition among farmers to woo those few migrants who have reached various villages. Apart from a handsome raise in the fixed charges of per acre, farmers have been offering good quality food (rice with daily costly vegetables), rooms fitted with all required facilities like TV with DTH service, coolers and even offering to get mobile phone of labour contractors recharged if they bring required number of migrants for them.

“The general elections have compelled us to offer all facilities to migrants, as there is an acute shortage of them. Our village needs at least 125-140 labourers, but till date, only 20-25 of them have reached here,” said Chhotu Ram, a farmer of Ikas village.

The shortage has not only compelled Haryana farmers to woo few migrants with big offers, but it has also increased the rates of local labour. The migrants used to charge ~2,200 per acre to harvest wheat manually, but this year, their rate has increased to ~2,800 per acre. Local labour has also increased its rates to ~3,500 per acre, while last year they charged ~2,900-3,000 per acre.

“Haryana and Punjab will witness a huge labour shortage this year, as all are busy in the elections in Bihar,” Shankar, a migrant from Bihar in Ikas village.

“Labour contractors of migrants say more labour is likely only after the conclusion of the elections in May in Bihar. But we could not wait till then and have to harvest our crop with local labour by paying hefty charges,” said Ravinder, a farmer.

Kaithal, April 11
Scores of women belonging to the Friends colony and other residential colonies protested the opening of liquor near the Hanuman Vatika temple on the Kaithal-Karnal road here today. They said the liquor shop should not be opened as it was adjoining a residential area. Besides, it was situated very close to the famous Hanuman Vatika and a park which was visited by a large number of people every day.

They pointed out that they would not allow the liquor vend to function from this area, as it would have adverse effect on women and children.

They said they had asked the liquor contractor about their sentiments, but he paid no heed to their requests and they were forced to protest.

Traffic was disrupted due to the protest.

Meanwhile, Angrej Singh, inspector, SHO, civil lines, reached the spot with police force. He asked the protesting women to take up the matter with the civil administration and Excise Department officials.

The women lifted the dharna. On the other hand, a wine contractor said the women were brought by his business rivals. He said earlier, the wine shop was located on the highway, but due to high court orders, he had no other alternative but to start his business at this site.

Chandigarh, April 11
The Haryana Lokayukta today fixed May 2 as the next date of hearing in the cash-for-CLU scam involving a Haryana minister, a Chief Parliamentary Secretary(CPS) and three MLAs.

The Registrar of the Lokayukta has granted more time for filing replies in the case to Health Minister Rao Narinder Singh, CPS Vinod Bhayana and MLAs Naresh Selvel, Ram Niwas Ghorela and Jarnail Singh.