Taraori (Karnal), Sept 30
BJP president Amit Shah today countered Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s claim over the falling prices of paddy and said the state government’s policies were responsible for the continuing decline of prices.

Speaking at a rally in the country’s basmati bowl of Taraori hours a day where the CM lambasted the Centre for not increasing paddy prices, Shah said the government imposed 4 per cent market tax on paddy that forced farmers to no sell their crop. “The government should have waived off this tax for the farmers’ betterment,” he said.

Shah called upon the public to convince at least 25 people each to vote for the BJP, which would help the party form the government in the state. He was addressing a gathering at the Taraori grain market in favour of party’s Nilokheri candidate Bhagwan Dass Kabirpanthi.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi spent around eight years of his life in the state. To repay his debt to the state, give him a chance. Press the lotus button on the EVM and ensure the victory of these five candidates,” he said, as he gestured toward party candidates Kabirpanthi, Harvinder Kalyan (Gharaunda), Manohar Lal Khattar (Karnal), Bakshish Singh Virk (Assandh) and Karandev Kamboj (Indri).

“Bring the BJP to power and I promise Haryana will be number one in development, have 24-hour power supply, industrial growth and many other facilities without discrimination,” he said.

Hitting out at Hooda, Shah said he did was only concerned about pleasing Sonia Gandhi. “The lands of farmers have been given to the son-in-law (Robert Vadra) at throwaway prices to please Sonia Gandhi,” he said. State election convener Kailash Vijayvargiya also attacked the state government for ignoring farmers.

Shah ripped into Congress-led UPA-1 and UPA-2 governments for rampant corruption, high inflation and ignoring internal and external security. He highlighted the achievements of Modi’s tenure, including the strong message to China and Pakistan on security issues. He praised the PM for delivering his speeches in Hindi at USA, which brought glory to Indian culture and tradition.

Karnal MP Ashwini Chopra appealed to the gathering to get rid off the regimes of the three Lals, for which state politics is famous.

Chandigarh, September 30
The two-day visit of BJP President Amit Shah to Haryana has left the main opposition parties fuming and the BJP itself somewhat divided and dejected. Shah, known for his “crude” ways and “sharp tongue”, has evoked a strong reaction from the Congress for a direct attack on Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda that “he survived for 10 years by performing mujra in Delhi Darbar”.

The Congress has revived the issue of “attack on Haryana’s pride,” saying that it was a well-planned move to insult “an elected leader” and is akin to Hooda’s booing in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Kaithal.

Shah’s speech at Narnaud (Hisar) today has evoked a sharp reaction from the Congress as well as the INLD. After the “mujra” statement, he said: “The state must get rid of the Hooda–Chautala cycle.

The BJP President evoked a sharp reaction among BJP leaders by indicating Captain Abhimanyu (in whose support he was addressing the Narnaund rally) as the chief ministerial nominee of his party, causing heartburn among the other contenders for the top slot. So far the BJP has adopted the strategy of refraining from appointing a chief ministerial candidate so that all BJP leaders aspiring for the slot put in their best.

With the withdrawal of nominations over today, electioneering will pick up from tomorrow. The Congress also releases its manifesto tomorrow. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Haryana on October 4 to address a series of rallies after return from abroad. On the same day, Congress President Sonia Gandhi will also address rallies at Meham and other places in Haryana.

The announcement indicating Abhimanyu as the chief ministerial choice has created a stir in the state BJP. Supporters of Captain Abhimanyu are elated but others are feeling demoralised. Shah said: “Abhimanyu has been sent from Delhi to Narnaund so that he can set an example of change... Haryana deserves a young, educated and dynamic leader like him to run the affairs of the state... The state needs a leader who can pick up the phone and directly talk to Modiji,” indicating that the party’s Narnaund nominee fits the bill.

While Shah said yesterday that there would be no post-poll alliance with the INLD, today he went on to launch a scathing attack on INLD chief Om Parkash Chuatala by saying that “he has said I will take oath from Tihar Jail, do you want such a Chief Minister whose head is swollen with ego and pride?. The law has punished him for corruption and you must teach him a lesson”.

Shah told the crowds: “Press the Lotus button so hard that the current is felt in Italy,” launching a veiled attack on Sonia.

The INLD and the Congress have both reacted by calling Shah “uncouth” and a “lowly” politician who has no sense of “decorum”. Spokesperson of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee Ran Singh Mann said Shah’s utterances are signs of nervousness. INLD leader Dushyant Chautala too has warned Shah against using “derogatory” language for which people will teach the BJP a lesson on the polling day. 

Jhajjar, September 30
Anti-incumbency has started showing its effect in Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s bastion Jhajjar district with campaigning gradually picking up momentum in the area.

The Congress nominee for Badli and sitting MLA, Naresh Sharma, was hooted in the presence of Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda during a meeting at Macchhrauli village in this district last evening. Deepender intervened to control the situation, but villagers did not let Sharma speak.

Sources said when Prof Virender, former political advisor to the Chief Minister, asked villagers to vote for Sharma, some of them stood and started hooting against Sharma.

Villagers said they would not vote for Sharma, as he did not visit the village in the past five years. They don’t want such representative who would contact them in the run up to the elections.

Turning to Deepender, the villagers said you (Congress) should not have fielded Sharma this time, as he had failed to live up to the people’s expectation.

Kaithal, September 30
This segment is a prestigious seat for the Congress and the INLD who have been traditional rivals during the previous elections.

Represented by high profile Industries Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala, he will be facing his traditional rival Kailash Bhagat of the INLD this time too. Rao Surendra Singh of the BJP is also a contender making it a tough three- cornered contest this time.

During the 2009 Assembly elections, Randeep defeated Bhagat by a margin of over 22,000 votes. He got 51.30% of the votes whereas Bhagat of the INLD secured 32.03%, Suresh Garg of the BSP got 11.96% and Ravi Bhushan Garg of the BJP got just 1.41%. None of the other 10 contestants, who jointly got 3.30% of the votes crossed the four figure mark.

However, in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Raj Kumar Saini of the BJP secured a lead of 13,331 votes over his nearest rival Naveen Jindal (Congress). Earlier, Bhagat was defeated in the 2005 elections by Shamsher Singh Surjewala, veteran Congress leader and father of Randeep.

Besides them, Rao Surendra Singh of the BJP who was allotted the party ticket ignoring the claim of several BJP aspirants is also likely to make the contest a hard fought event this time. Rao was convener of the Kisan Cell of the HJC but was allotted a ticket hours after he joined the BJP causing heart burn among other aspirants.

Kaithal has witnessed unparalleled development during the 10 years due to

the initiatives taken by Surjewala. Hundreds of crores had been spent on widening and construction of roads, sewerage, setting up power sub-stations, educational institutions, including a private university, a multi -speciality hospital, several sports stadiums, government buildings and shoring up of other infrastructure, he claimed.

The Jind-Khanouri road bypass and under bridge constructed for ~27 crore on this stretch will ease traffic congestion on the city roads. The construction of a new grain market was underway. 

Narnaul, September 30
Health Minister and Congress Narnaul nominee Rao Narender Singh has been booked under the Representation of the People Act, 1951, on charges of organising a secret meeting of voters in a hotel on Rewari road here yesterday. He has been given 48 hours to file his reply. The hotel owner has also been put on notice.

Sources said the Narnaul Returning Officer received a complaint last night that Rao Narender was holding a public meeting in the hotel where arrangement for dinner had also been made to influence the voters.

“A team of officials that keeps a tab on election expenditure of candidates in the fray was immediately sent to the hotel to probe the complaint. The team found Rao Narender and around 150 people present in the hotel,” Narnaul Returning Officer Manoj Kumar said. Thereafter, the police was asked to register a case against Rao Narender under Section 123 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

He maintained special places had been fixed to hold public meetings and other programmes in connection with the election and prior permission was also required for such activities.

“Organising a public meeting at a place other than those fixed is a violation of the poll code. The expense incurred on the meeting has been added to Rao Narender’s poll expenditure,” said Manoj Kumar.

Kurukshetra, September 30
After social networking sites made their presence felt in the recent Lok Sabha election, major political parties are geared up to woo voters using this platform in the Assembly poll as well.

Communication portals such as Facebook and Twitter and apps such as Whatsapp and Hike are abuzz with poll activities. Not just political parties and candidates, supporters, too are working on war-footing to connect with as many people as possible and get feedback.

While most leaders and candidates have accepted the power of social networking sites, for many it is an alien concept and their family members and party workers are handling the virtual battleground. Most political parties have formed teams of IT professionals who are using social media as an essential tool to interact with supporters given as it’s a cheap and fast medium of spreading information.

Photos of rallies and campaigning, news clippings and interviews of leaders, advertisements, programmes with interaction schedules of leaders, cartoons and derogatory comments are making the rounds on social media.

“A battle of wits is on among the people, morphed pictures of politicians and jokes in comment boxes are getting thousands of likes, shares and re-comments,” said Deepak Nagpal, a net-savvy activist.

While the Congress, the INLD and the HJC are pushing for Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Om Prakash Chautala and Kuldeep Bishnoi, respectively, as next chief minister and are seeking votes in their names, the BJP is banking on Narendra Modi.

The BJP is wooing voters with slogans such as Chalo chalein Modi ke saath, Delhi hui hamari, ab Chandigarh ki baari and Ab Haryana ke bhi acchhe din aayenge. The Congress has come up with the slogans No. 1 Haryana and Hooda sarkaar teesri baar.

The HJC is banking on messages such as Hamara sankalp—imandaar aur jawabdeh sarkar, samaan vikas, samaan rojgar and Abki baar Kuldeep sarkaar.

INLD has come up with INLD—Ab samay hai badlaav ka’ and Sapne karne ho saakaar to laaiye Inelo sarkaar.

Parties have set-up war rooms to counter each other. The BJP has its headquarters in Rohtak while sub stations have been set up in Gurgaon, Karnal, Hisar and Panchkula. Kailash Vijayvargiya, in-charge of BJP Haryana Elections is monitoring the campaign. The Congress has its headquarters in Chandigarh and Gurgaon under Deepender Singh Hooda’s guidance.

The INLD has also become tech-savvy and its war room is headquartered in Chandigarh and Delhi with a sub-station in Gurgaon. Bulk messaging is also popular among parties as they send voters SMS on every activity.

Naveen Jindal, former Kurukshetra MP, and Congress publicity committee chief, said “The Congress considers social media an effective publicity tool. The party has done a lot of work in 10 years and has got many achievements to share with the people and social media is one of the best ways to reach out. Though we will not appoint a special team as our candidates and supporters are tech-savvy and using social media well, advisories will be issued to help them with the data and records.”

Assandh (Karnal), Sept 30
To garner support of the Sikh community, Punjab Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) Navjot Kaur Sidhu campaigned for BJP’s Assandh candidate Bakshish Singh Virk on Monday.

The BJP’s move of roping in Navjot Kaur is being seen as a counter to Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda playing the HSGMC card in Assandh two days ago as he sought votes for party’s candidate Sumita Singh.

The INLD will ask Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his deputy Sukhbir Badal to canvass for the party’s Assandh nominee Yashvir Singh Rana. So the BJP is not leaving any stone unturned in this regard at Assandh seat.

After inaugurating the party’s election office in Jundla village, the CPS visited other villages and Assandh city, and assured people that the BJP would usher in good governance in the state after coming to power.

She sought votes in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “The Prime Minister has become a global icon. People in villages are impressed with him and they are not sceptical about the government at the Centre,” she told The Tribune. “‘Make in India’ is an initiative to bring more jobs for educated youth by attracting international companies to the country.”

To a query, she said instead of big rallies, personal interaction with voters played an important role. About his husband Navjot Singh Sidhu campaigning in the state, the CPS said he would follow the party’s directions in this regard.

Jind, September 30
In what appears to be a setback for both the Congress and the INLD, representatives of panchayats from Jind City constituency today announced support to Kandela Khap president Tek Ram Kandela in the Assembly poll.

Villagers and residents of Jind City participated in the mahapanchayat called at Dalamwala village. After brainstorming over various candidates, it was announced that the members would support Kandela, who is contesting as an Independent after he was denied tickets by both the Congress and the INLD.

Kandela khap is the biggest khap of Jind district. Out of 36 villages in Jind City constituency, 28 belong to Kandela khap. Kandela remained in INLD for almost three decades and also fought the 1991 elections from Jind City on an INLD ticket and secured around 22,000 votes. But after that, INLD never gave him a chance despite his repeated requests and he finally joined Congress two months ago after assurances from the party for a ticket.

When Congress released its list, his name was missing and the Jind City ticket went to Pramod Sehwag.

Ambala, September 30
SAD general secretary Prem Singh Chandumajra today inaugurated the party’s election office in Ambala City and said the party had forged an alliance with the INLD to prevent the Congress from forming the government for the third time.

He said the Congress would pay the price for dividing the Sikh community over the SGPC issue in the Assembly election. It had lost its credibility as it failed to provide even basic amenities to the common man, he said.

He said the voters were annoyed with the Congress for hatching a conspiracy against Om Prakash Chautala and they would teach the Congress a lesson in the election.

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had beyond doubt improved the country’s image globally and he was responsible for the BJP’s massive win in the Lok Sabha election. — OC

Ghogripur (Karnal), September 30
It’s just 6 km from the district headquarter and has given the state five MLAs, including two ministers, but development eludes the village of Ghogripur.

Situated on the bank of the Western Yamuna Canal, the village has a population of around 5,000. Five persons of the village have been elected as MLAs from various constituencies for a record eight terms, including three who were elected twice.

Surjeet Singh Mann was elected MLA twice, first from Sherda in 1968 and from Pai in Kaithal in 1972. Guljar Mann became the second person from the village to enter the Assembly from Rajound in 1977. In 19991, Janki Mann and Tajinder Mann, both from Ghogripur, were elected from Indri and Pai, respectively. Tajinder, who went on to become minister, was re-elected MLA from Kalayat in 2005.

Karnal MLA Sumita Singh, also from Ghogripur, was elected twice from Karnal in 2005 and 2009.

Raj Kumar, a resident of the village, said, “Our constituency was reserved for SCs till 2009 and later converted to general. Despite this, politicians of the village fought from other constituencies and won,” he said.

Sanjay Kumar Sharma, also of the village, alleged, “Even after giving five MLAs to the state Assembly, our village has been neglected. Basic facilities such as roads, healthcare and drainage are missing. We have been waiting for a primary health centre for quite some time. A look at the village roads will reveal the ground reality.”

He said villagers offered land for the Kalpana Chawla Government Medical College, but the offer wasn’t considered, he said.

Sarpanch Sulekh Chand said, “There are no basic amenities. The condition of my village has only worsened with time. After giving five MLAs to the state, it could have been a model village, but no government has bothered about it. The condition of roads has been highlighted before the government officials many times, but no action has been taken.”

Ambala, September 30
BJP’s candidate for the Ambala cantonment Anil Vij today vent his ire against CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda by claiming that the latter stood exposed as none of the promises made by him during the recent rallies have been fulfilled.

“It is one thing to deceive people and collect votes and a totally different thing to work dedicatedly to deliver what is promised,” he said while addressing a gathering at the local market.

Hooda had played a fraud with the people by making announcements of development worth thousands of crores even though the state’s finances did not allow for the same. It was a gimmick played by the Congress to trick the voters into voting for the party, he alleged.

He said his stand against the government was vindicated even by the Congress MP Kumari Selja who had openly targeted the Hooda government of development bias against Ambala.

The CM had made it a point not to let any development near completion in Ambala as the people here had voted for a BJP candidate in the last assembly elections. “I wrong had the people done if they voted for the BJP. But the government neglected to force the people to vote for Congress in this elections, he said. 

Chandigarh, September 30
On the first day of withdrawal of nomination papers in Haryana, 47 candidates withdrew their nominations today. October 1 will be the last day for withdrawal of nominations.

Chief Electoral officer, Haryana, Shrikant Walgad said now 1,518 candidates were left after withdrawal, which included 1,374 male and 144 female candidates.

Walgad said one candidate each from Ambala Cantonment, Ambala City, Indri, Ganaur, Rai, Baroda, Jind, Narnaud, Tosham, Garhi Sampla-Kiloi, Badli, Beri, Narnaul, Kosli, Nuh, Hathin, Hodal and Faridabad (NIT) Assembly constituencies withdrew their candidature.

Similarly, two candidates each from Sirsa, Adampur, Bahadurgarh, Bawal, Badshahpur and Gurgaon constituencies withdrew their candidature.

He said three candidates from Karnal and Hisar, four candidates from Nagal Chaudhary and seven candidates from Safidon Assembly constituencies withdrew their candidature.

Kaithal, September 30
In a shrewd political move, Rao Surendra Singh, the BJP candidate from Kaithal accompanied by large number of supporters reached Deodkheri village to meet Jagan Gurjar, a candidate contesting on the HJC ticket.

He could not meet his opponent but was given a warm welcome by villagers.

His campaign also got a boost after several BJP activists and ticket seekers, who were annoyed over allotment of party ticket to Rao, came out in his support and decided to join his election campaign.

Leela Ram, a former MLA, Suresh Garg Nouch, Ravi Bhushan Garg, Arun Saraf, Ashok Goel, Rajpal Tanwar, Palla Ram Saini, all of whom have a mass support base were prominent among those who met him.

During his campaign today, he went from shop to shop in the new grain market.

Garhi Sampla-Kiloi, September 30
This segment, carved from the erstwhile Hasangarh and Kiloi Assembly constituencies, was just another seat till Bhupinder Singh Hooda, the Haryana Chief Minister, was elected from here. The special status acquired by the constituency continues and it is considered one of the safest seats for the ruling party, though the Opposition leaders claim otherwise.

Both Opposition nominees – Satish Nandal of the INLD and Dharambir Hooda of the BJP – have remained close confidants of the CM in the past. While Nandal had contested from here in the last Assembly elections and lost to Hooda by a huge margin, the entry of Dharambir as the BJP candidate under changed political circumstances has made the contest triangular this time. The people here could not have asked more in terms of development after Hooda took over as the CM. This segment has gained a lot in terms of infrastructural development, educational institutions, health and sanitation facilities and other civic amenities. Sampla town got the status of a subdivision. 

But then, there are certain gaping holes and lacunae in the area’s development, which Hooda’s opponents are trying to exploit. Like, the sewerage of Sampla, on which Rs 14 crore were spent has failed to deliver the desired results. The imposition of the massive toll-tax regime has also put off the voters as well as supporters.

The INLD recently got a shot in the arm with 13 Congress-supported members of the Sampla Municipal Committee, including its chairman and vice-chairman, joining the INLD. “We made numerous attempts to get work done by Hooda and his MP son Deepender, but to no avail. Eventually, we were left with no alternative but to part ways with the Congress,” maintains Sudhir Kumar, Sampla MC chairman.

The CM’s opponents are also trying to cash in on the anti-incumbency sentiment after two consecutive terms of his regime.

Then, there are several unfinished projects and resentment amongst the residents of certain villages who allege step-motherly treatment with them. Nonetheless, in Haryana, and more so in the state heartland, the people are more concerned about getting “direct benefit” in terms of jobs, contracts and other personal favours from the powers that be. This is where the incumbent CM gains ground as even the Opposition leaders maintain that his regime has lavishly doled out sops, including jobs and contracts, to the residents of this constituency. Grant of personal favours and obligations, coupled with the call to retain the “chaudhar” of the Jat heartland may save the day for the CM’s camp.

The recently built toll plaza on the Rohtak-Panipat road near Makdauli village in Rohtak district. Photo: Manoj Dhaka

Main issues
Development, employment, land-acquisition, resentment over imposition of toll, poor condition of internal and connecting roads, sewerage and sanitation.

Segment scan
This largely rural constituency comprises 54 villages and was carved out from the erstwhile Hassangarh and Kiloi segments, part of which formed Garhi Sampla-Kiloi. A majority of the voters are Jat farmers. 

Karnal, September 30
In a series of jolts to the Congress, former chairman of the Improvement Trust and one of the ticket aspirants from Karnal, Rakesh Nagpal has quit the party and joined the BJP here today.

He was welcomed by party candidate Manohar Lal Khattar. Similarly, Congress leader and Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee member (HSGMC) Amrinder Singh Arora too joined the BJP at Taraori in the presence of the party’s national president Amit Shah.

The state election convenor and Cabinet Minister of MP Kailash Vijavargiya also welcomed Arora in the party.

Kaithal, September 30
Director General of Police (DGP) SN Vashisht today said to ensure free and fair elections and to check the entry of criminals and smuggling of arms from other states, special nakas will be set up on borders with other states. Besides, police force of other states will also remain deployed on 195 such nakas.

A special drive has been launched to arrest proclaimed offenders and bail jumpers. Eighty companies of paramilitary forces, including CRPF, BSF and ITBP, have been requisitioned. — OC