Kurukshetra/Hisar/Faridabad/October 6
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today lashed out at the Congress and the INLD and promised to end dynastic politics in Haryana.

Addressing election rallies in Hisar, Kurukshetra and Faridabad on his second leg of campaigning for the October 15 Assembly polls, Modi said the state had not seen a government in which political families looked beyond themselves and their family members.

“I have seen Haryana being looted and ruined. Look at the state’s history over the last 25 years and you will find there is no democracy left. Haryana ministers are running the government only for their kin. They were only interested in promoting their families at the cost of development. You must ensure they do not get a single seat in the Assembly,” he said.

Modi stepped up the attack on Sonia Gandhi and her son-in-law Robert Vadra against the backdrop of a news report that the government had legitimised the land deal between Vadra and DLF and asked the EC to take note of the issue.

“Hooda has admitted defeat. That’s why the Congress government decided to approve the land case of ‘damaad’ (son-in-law) despite the poll code. They know they won’t be able to get it done after the poll. How dare they? They seem to be under pressure from the high command,” he said, while urging the EC to see whether or not it’s a violation of the code of conduct.

Modi targeted the Chautalas and asked the people to rid the state of ‘bahubalis’ (musclemen) at the Kurukshetra rally. “A government with an absolute majority will be able to get Haryana rid of ‘bahubalis’,” he said.

In a reference to INLD leader Om Prakash Chautala, Modi said some leaders were displaying photographs showing them in his company to create an impression they knew the Prime Minister well. “Some people are spreading lies by showing my old photos with them and saying they support Modi. I don’t need support from Tihar Jail. I do not need the support of ‘bahubalis’ and dangerous goons in jail. I enjoy the support of 125 billion people.”

Panipat, October 6
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today took strong objection to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s interpretation of the Planning Commission statistics on developmental parameters of the state and said he had been misled by his advisors.

Objecting to the Prime Minister’s charge of the state being pushed back in terms of development in the last decade, Hooda has the Prime Minister should have cross checked his facts rather than spread falsehood.

“I have said and maintain that Haryana has emerged number one among big states on most parameters, including per capita income. These figures are given out by the Planning Commission and not a claim of the Hooda Government,” the Chief Minister told The Tribune in an interview. “Misleading statements from the PM are highly inappropriate and tend to undermine the prestige attached to his august position. The figures given out by Prime Minister Modi at Karnal about the development of Haryana are totally incorrect. He seems to have been given incorrect data.”

Hooda said he believed in political morality and would not like to say anything that is against “political decorum”, but would expect the same from his political rivals, who were resorting to falsehood.

He said the Prime Minister had also spread untruth about his government favouring Robert Vadra in a land deal. “All sorts of lies are being spread from a political stage in a desperate bid to come to power. All the Congress wants to tell the people of Haryana is that they must not be misled by propaganda. If it is proved that I have given a single inch of Haryana Government land to anyone out of favour, I am willing to step down. If there was something wrong in the Vadra issue, why has the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) not moved court against the government? They can approach the Election Commission of India (ECI) even today, instead of making misleading and false statements,” he said.

Hooda said the Prime Minister also made an incorrect statement about levelling of cess in mandis leading to procurement issues. “Modi’s statement is nothing short of a sham. No new cess has been imposed by the government. Further, the 4 per cent cess in mandis is not paid by farmers, but by commission agents and traders. Lastly, the cess is prevalent in all states and not just Haryana,” he said.

Hooda said he had taken up the issue of minimum support price (MSP) with the Prime Minister in June and September 2014 when he sought minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 2,000 for common paddy, Rs 2,025 for fine paddy and Rs 2,100 for superfine paddy.

“In August 2014, I got a letter from Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh in response to his letters saying there was no proposal to increase minimum support price (MSP). The Centre is now trying to blame the state for the farmers’ loss,” he said.

Taking on the Prime Minister on other statements made at various rallies, Hooda said his government had already given 100 yard plots to 3.83 lakh persons. “I have a list of all these people. The Prime Minister’s remark ‘zameen kahan gai’ is wrong and does not behove a prime minister. The government has already given 10,000 houses to the poor and another 36,000 are under construction.

The Congress has already made payment for construction of 90,000 houses in rural areas. In the coming five years, another 2 lakh homes will be given to the poor in rural areas and 1.5 lakh in urban areas.

All this is on record and can be verified by anyone. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi surely has access to this information.

Hooda said both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) were getting desperate after receiving feedback about overwhelming response to the Congress and these parties could resort to any measure to incite trouble prior to the election, Hooda said.

Narnaul, October 6
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement against INLD in the BJP’s Karnal rally two days ago, has not gone down well with party chief Om Prakash Chautala.

Chautala said Modi was now the PM of the country, hence he should maintain the dignity of his office during public meetings. While addressing a poll meeting organised by INLD nominee Kamlesh Saini in Narnaul today, Chautala said Modi’s address in Karnal rally had lowered the dignity of the Prime Minister’s office.

“At present, though we aren’t in a position to compete with Modi, but the people will decide in the upcoming Assembly elections among the BJP and INLD, which party is strongest in the state,” said Chautala, adding INLD was the lone party which could protect the interests of the common man.

Terming the Modi’s Karnal rally a ‘flop show’ in terms of the gathering, the INLD supremo said Modi should not underestimate the base of INLD in the state. “We are going to organise a mammoth rally in Karnal on October 7 to show our strength,” Chautala added.

Accusing the Hooda-led state government of spreading corruption and promoting crime in the state, he claimed the INLD would form the government with full majority in the state as the people had made up their mind for the same. Later, Chautala addressed meetings at Ateli and Nangal Chaudhry segments of Mahendragarh district.

Paatauda (Jhajjar), October 6
Union Minister of Home Rajnath Singh today said the BJP would ensure welfare for the farmers if it formed government in the state.

He was addressing a poll meeting organised by BJP Kisan Morcha chief and party nominee from Badli Om Prakash Dhankar. He said the Hooda-led state government had snatched lands from farmers in the name of development.

“The state government did nothing except pleasing corporate houses. Farmers now know the real face of the Congress and are eagerly waiting for the Assembly elections to root it out,” he said.

Terming Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a ‘well-wisher’ of the farmers, he said the Centre had chalked out development policies to bail the farmers out from the crisis.

Chandigarh, October 6
Congress spokesman Anand Sharma today hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for raking up the issue of land deal involving Robert Vadra, saying that the former seeks to “sensationalise and politicise everything” and accused him of violating the model code of conduct by using national broadcaster for connecting with people with ‘Mann ki Baat’ on October 3.

He was responding to queries on Modi’s statement in Hisar, asking the Election Commission to take note of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda approving the land deal between Robert Vadra and DLF, alleging that it was done hastily as the Congress faced “certain defeat” in the October 15 poll.

“If there has been any violation or transgression during the ongoing election campaign that has been done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself on October 3 when he chose to use national broadcaster AIR to speak to people when elections are on in Maharashtra and Haryana,” the former Commerce Minister said.

Sharma further raised the issue of the live telecast of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s speech by national broadcaster Doordarshan on October 3. “On the same day, another brazen transgression took place... RSS leader Mohan Bhagwat’s address on this particular day, which was symbolic for Hindutva forces, was telecast again on national broadcaster Doordarshan. I had not heard anything from Narendra Modi and his colleagues or the Election Commission for that matter,” he said.

On the issue of ceasefire violations by Pakistan along the international border and the Line of Control in Jammu and Poonch sectors, the Congress spokesman described it as matter of “great national concern” and sought “effective approach” from the Centre towards Pakistan and China.

He also took a jibe at the Central Government for having a “part-time” Defence Minister.

“...it has been a matter of concern that India has a part-time Defence Minister and this is for the first time that India does not have Defence Minister. (Arun) Jaitley - I have respect for him... he is the Finance Minister of India and having an additional charge,” he said.

New Delhi, October 6
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is all set to hit the campaign trail in Haryana with three public meetings on October 9.

Two days later, Congress President Sonia Gandhi will address her third rally in the poll-bound state at Tosham in Bhiwani on October 11 in favour of former Chief Minister Bansi Lal’s daughter-in-law, Kiran Choudhry.

Rahul will address meetings at Firozpur Jhirka, Rewari and Gannaur. Rahul is likely to address some more rallies in the state later.

Rahul will campaign in Gannaur for Speaker Kuldeep Sharma while in Rewari he will seek votes for Capt Ajay Singh Yadav, the six-time legislator from the segment. In Firozpur Jhirka, the Congress candidate is Azad Mohammad.

Sonia to campaign too
Congress president Sonia Gandhi (in pic) will address her third rally at Tosham in Bhiwani district on October 11 in favour of former Chief Minister Bansi Lal’s daughter-in-law, Kiran Choudhry.

Chandigarh, Ocotber 6
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to the people of Haryana to rid the state of dynastic rule has a ramification for Punjab on account of the October 15 Vidhan Sabha elections in the state.

Though it may appear to be an attack on the various Lal clans — Devi Lal, Bansi Lal and Bhajan Lal families — that have ruled Haryana, but in the immediate future the Modi statement is bound to have a direct implication on Punjab too.

In Punjab the BJP is an alliance partner of the SAD, which too is a family-run party with Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal being the patron of the party, while his son and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal is the SAD president.

Though, Modi did not name any of the political families in Haryana, the BJP often accuses the Congress of not letting come out of the cycle of dynastic politics.

In his election speech Modi blamed dynastic politics as the biggest bane of Indian politics and directly asked the people of Haryana if they “would like to break the dynastic politics?” adding this was an opportunity to do so.

Though, Modi has in the past attacked Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi for perpetuating “family rule,” he did not name anyone in particular. But political observers feel the particular statement of Prime Minister Modi assumes greater significance keeping in mind the troubled relationship the SAD and BJP are having in Punjab during the second term of the Akali-BJP government.

The BJP leaders in Punjab are openly critical of the style of functioning of SAD. Former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Shanta Kumar has been vocal about the SAD leadership’s functioning style.

Former chief minister Bansi Lal had inducted his son Surinder into politics, but after his death in a helicopter crash his daughter-in-law Kiran Chaudhry and her daughter Shruti got into politics.

Kiran is a minister in the Hooda government. Again Hooda’s son, Deepinder, is the MP from Rohtak. HJC chief Kuldeep Bishnoi is son of former CM Bhajan Lal. His brother Chander Mohan has also been the Deputy Chief Minister in the Hooda government during the first term.

Political observers feel in the coming days, Modi could expand the scope of his attack on dynastic rule on the SAD. If he does not do so, the Prime Minister could be accused of bias in his attack.

Since SAD and BJP are having differences on various issues in governance, increase in strain on the two parties including an attack on account of dynastic politics cannot be ruled out.

Badal’s son-in-law Adesh Partap Singh, daughter-in-law Harsimrat Badal and Harsimrat Badal’s brother Birkram Majithia all hold ministerial berths in Punjab or the NDA government at the Centre.

Matdadu (Dabwali), October 6
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today tried to strike an emotional chord with the people in the home constituency of jailed INLD leaders Om Parkash Chautala and his son Ajay Singh Chautala. He said the time had come to give a befitting reply to the ‘atrocities’ committed by the Congress on their leaders.

Badal, who launched his campaign for the INLD in the state from the Dabwali Assembly segment, was addressing an election meeting at Matdadu today. He alleged the Congress government in the state had conspired with the CBI to send the Chautala father, son duo to jail.

Dabwali Assembly segment includes Chautala village, the native place of the Devi Lal clan. Ajay Singh Chautala had won the Dabwali seat in 2009 and now, the INLD has fielded his wife Naina Singh Chautala from here.

Calling upon voters to ‘revenge’ the ‘excesses’ committed by the Congress on Chautalas, Badal said the party had already been wiped out of several states and now, it would be rooted out from Haryana too.

The Punjab CM said all surveys were indicating that the INLD was set to return to power after the October 15 polls and said it would end an era of discrimination in the state.

Continuing his attack on the Congress, Badal said the party had dragged the country backwards due to widespread corruption. “I have been to several countries and found that India has the most fertile lands, but still the country lags behind others in progress. This is because the Congress wants to keep the country backward and its people poor so that it can keep its vote bank intact,” Badal alleged.

During his campaign, Badal addressed well-attended election meetings in villages of Lohgarh, Saktakhera, Abubshahr, Ganga, Matdadu, Maujgarh, Masitan, Mithri and Jadwala Jatan today. Jeet Mohinder Singh, MLA from Talwandi Sabo; Ravi Singh Chautala, a son of Chautala’s younger brother Partap Singh Chautala, and several others were present at the meeting.

Earlier, speaking to The Tribune at Ganga village, where Badal had lunch, he justified his campaign for the INLD and said his relations with Chautalas were not merely political, but familial. He said the BJP knew it well and there was no confusion.

Badal dodged a question whether he would mediate in bringing the INLD and the BJP together after the polls in the event of a hung Assembly. To this Badal replied, he was sure that Chautalas would get a majority on their own.

Sirsa, October 6
Former MLA from Ellenabad Mani Ram Keharwala yesterday quit the Congress. Along with him, his son Yashpal, vice-president of the Sirsa Youth Congress, resigned from his post as well as the party.

Keharwala, who was denied the ticket from Kalanwali to accommodate his nephew Om Parkash Keharwala’s son Shish Pal Keharwala, alleged he had been let down by state Congress chief Ashok Tanwar.

He said he would announce his future course of action in a day or two.

Keharwala, who won the Assembly elections from erstwhile Ellenabad (SC) seat in 1991, is the son of three-time MLA and former minister Kesra Ram.

He had left the Congress along with Bhajan Lal in 2007 and was a founder member of the HJC. When the Kuldeep Bishnoi-led outfit fielded Rajinder Dhanak in the 2009 parliamentary polls, he quit the party to join the Congress.

Keharwala claimed that Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda supported his candidature, but Tanwar had his way in choosing the candidate for Kalanwali. “Tanwar has scant respect for senior party leaders and forcing them to leave the Congress by ignoring them,” he said.

Rewari, October 6
HJC supremo Kuldeep Bishnoi lambasted leaders for misleading the people in the name of SYL Canal water and sought a chance to form the government to bring water and development to south Haryana.

Bishnoi was addressing a rally organised by HJC Rewari nominee Raghu Yadav at Rao Tularam Park here today. He said the HJC was committed to resolve the problem of potable and irrigation water in south Haryana if voted to power.

“You have seen leaders who got your votes in the past by making hollow promises about SYL water. Give HJC nominee Raghu Yadav a chance to fulfill the aspirations of the people of the region. I promise you we will do what others could not,” Bishnoi said.

The HJC supremo questioned the people: “How long will you wait for potable and irrigation water? Several decades have passed and several more will go by if you don’t expose those playing with your emotions.”

Charging both the Chautala and Hooda governments with indulging in politics over the SYL Canal issue, Bishnoi said over 90 per cent work on the canal was completed during his father Bhajan Lal’s tenure as Chief Minister. “Neither Chautala nor Hooda did anything in the last 15 years to ensure SYL water for the dry areas of south Haryana,” he said.

He called upon the locals to root out the Congress government for its “failure” to provide employment, development and basic amenities such as power, water and roads in South Haryana even after long.

Fatehabad, October 6
After quitting Kuldeep Bishnoi’s HJC, former minister Subhash Batra is wooing support for Punjabi candidates cutting across party lines.

Batra was in Fatehabad today to seek votes for BJP nominee Swatantar Bala Chaudhary.

Talking to The Tribune, Batra said he had announced in a rally of the Punjabi community on December 2, 2013, at Rohtak that he would support the party giving the community two Lok Sabha and 25 Assembly seats.

The INLD fielded three Punjabis (RK Anand, Charanjit Singh Rori and Jaswinder Singh Sandhu), the BJP one (Ashwani Chopra) while the Congress had given no ticket to Punjabis in the parliamentary poll,” he said.

In the coming assembly poll, the INLD had fielded Punjabis on 15 seats, the Congress and the BJP had given the ticket to eight candidates each while Bishnoi had given four seats to Punjabis.

Batra claimed that he had quit the HJC because Bishnoi betrayed his trust by ignoring Punjabis after giving a firm assurance to allot 25 seats to the community.

He said he had decided to support candidates belonging to the Punjabi community cutting across party lines. "Besides Swatantar Chaudhary, I will support HJC nominee Gautam Sardana (Hisar), Congress nominee Dev Raj Diwan (Sonepat) and INLD nominee Parvesh Mehta(Faridabad),” Batra said.

The former minister would campaign in nearly 10 to 12 seats where Punjabis are in the fray.

At Sirsa, Batra is supporting an Agarwal candidate, Makhan Lal Singla (INLD), instead of Punjabi Sunita Setia (BJP) because of his old friendship with him and also because he comes from Punjab.

Rohtak, October 6
Paucity of Jat leaders in the BJP is holding back the saffron party’s MLA aspirants from having a firm grip over the electorate in the Rohtak belt, which has a sizeable population of Jats.

The Rohtak segment has become a hot seat with Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s confidant and incumbent Congress MLA Bharat Bhushan Batra locked in a direct contest with Haryana BJP general secretary and prominent local leader Manish Grover.

Batra, who was recently adjudged the best MLA of Haryana, has a sound image though he is battling 10-yearanti-incumbency brewing amongst the voters as well as party workers at the end of second successive tenure of the Congress regime.

On the other hand, supporters of Grover, who has lost to the Congress candidates on three occasions, are leaving no stone unturned in ensuring his victory this time.

While both Batra and Grover camps have penetration in the major vote-bank of the Punjabi community, Grover is likely to get a slight edge in the Agarwal community, thanks to the switchover of prominent industrialist and former Congress sympathiser Manmohan Goel to the saffron party.

The fielding of a non-Punjabi candidate – Raj Kumar Sharma – by the INLD may also benefit the BJP to some extent as the saffron party is now likely to get a lion’s share of the anti-Congress Punjabi votes. Nonetheless, going might have been much easier for the BJP had the INLD fielded a Jat. Jat voters residing in outer colonies of the town may play a key role in deciding the political fortune of the wannabe MLAs.

While the Congress nominee has the pro-active backing of CM Hooda, his MP son Deepender and other family members and supporters, garnering Jat votes seems to be an uphill task for the BJP candidate due to the lack of emphatic and sympathetic Jat leadership in his party.

The same holds good for the Kalanaur (reserved) assembly segment where BJP nominee Ram Avatar Balmiki does not have proactive support of a formidable Jat leader while Congress candidate Shakuntala Khatak has CM Hooda and his family to fall back on.

Though the saffron party has fielded Jat candidates from the Meham and Garhi Sampla-Kiloi assembly constituencies, they are too occupied in their own campaigns to spare time for other contenders of their party.

Ensuring his wife’s victory from Uchana Kalan is a must-do for Jat leader Birender Singh while other BJP leaders owing allegiance to the community like Capt Abhimanyu and Om Prakash Dhankar are also deeply engaged in respective poll battles.

Assandh (Karnal), October 6
The Assandh Assembly segment that had witnessed an exciting battle in the 2009 Assembly elections is again set for a multi-cornered contest this time.

The BSP has fielded Maratha Virender Verma, while Bakshish Singh Virk is in the fray on the BJP ticket. Ignoring the claim of sitting MLA Zile Ram Sharma, the Congress has fielded Karnal MLA Sumita Singh. Infuriated, Zile Ram, former AICC member Kamal Mann, Congress leader Sher Partap Sheri have filed their nominations as Independents.

In 2009, Zile Ram won the seat on the HJC ticket. Later, he joined the Congress. This seat remained in the limelight for the past three year as he is facing charges of abetment to suicide of Kambopura sarpanch Karam Singh.

To know the voters’ mood, a team of The Tribune visited the constituency. The cast factor could play a decisive role in seat dominated by Sikhs and Jats. There are nearly 27,000 Sikhs in the segment, followed by Jats (24,000), Brahmins (18,500), Rors (18,500) and Rajputs (15,000). There are nearly 34,000 BC votes and 49,000 SC voters.

Riding high on the Modi wave, BJP candidate Virk is sure about his victory with a massive margin. Verma is also confident of a win and banks on the traditional vote bank of the BSP. Since he is from the Ror community, he has an added advantage, a political analyst says.

Facing opposition from Congress leaders, Congress candidate Sumita Singh has managed to pacify disgruntled leaders who opposed her candidature. Still, she faces a challenge from Congress rebels — Zile Ram, Kamal and former minister Tejinder Mann’s son Brijender Mann, who is trying to cash in on his father’s legacy.

Keen contest The BSP has fielded Maratha Virender Verma, while Bakshish Singh Virk is in the fray on the BJP ticket The Congress has fielded Karnal MLA Sumita Singh ignoring the claim of sitting MLA Zile Ram Sharma Infuriated, Zile Ram, former AICC member Kamal Mann, Congress leader Sher Partap Sheri have filed their nominations as Independents

Sirsa, October 6
It is 8 am and supporters of Abhay Singh Chautala have already assembled outside his Dabwali road residence.

Inside the sprawling bungalow, the INLD leader is reading newspapers when The Tribune catches up with him. “I will take only a few minutes to get ready,” he says, while offering a cup of tea.

About half an hour later, he meets people assembled outside. As he gets ready to sit in his Land Cruiser, some TV journalists request him for bytes and take him towards a chopper parked in a spacious lawn adjoining his residence.

Finally, Abhay Singh leaves for his campaign that is to begin from Shakarmandori village near Chopta in Ellenabad. Before leaving Sirsa town, he visits Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson Hoshiari Lal Sharma’s residence to mourn the death of his sister-in-law. As his cavalcade is on the Chopta road, Abhay Singh opens his breakfast box containing red cherries and blueberries.

“I take only these two fruits in breakfast; onion, sabji, dal and two chapattis of besan and atta in lunch; and vegetables, dal and curd in dinner. I take a glass of milk before going to bed,” Abhay Singh shares. At Chopta, some workers stop his vehicle to tell him, “Skip Rampura village as a youth has died there that day.” Over a hundred motorcyclists are waiting outside Shakarmandori village, who insist Abhay Singh to accompany them in an open jeep. “The response I am witnessing is such that I will not be surprised if my party wins 60 seats this time,” Abhay Singh claims.

At the meeting venue, he is welcomed with drum beats. "Ram Ram," he starts his speech and inquires about the condition of the villagers' crops. “I will not allow the enthusiasm with which these youths have escorted me to their village to die after the elections. The INLD will advertise posts immediately after coming to power,” he announces amidst cheers from the youths.

He says last time, his father and brother gave only 3,209 jobs but this time the party will give three lakh jobs to youths even if he has to spend the rest of his life in jail for this. The process of speeches is repeated at other villages. He eats his lunch at the residence of a supporter at Shahpuria village. In the evening, he addresses meetings of people in Sirsa and then leaves for his residence, where meetings are scheduled till late in the night.

Rohtak, October 6
The INLD has accused Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda of misusing government machinery for boosting his electoral prospects.

District INLD president and nominee from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi Satish Nandal has alleged that Hooda, who is also the Congress candidate from the constituency, was pressuring voters.

Nandal maintained the CM had been given extra security cover and publicity material had been put on private vehicles with impunity. — TNS

Karnal, October 6
As the election campaign gains momentum, national president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) Anurag Thakur launched an attack on the state Congress government today.

Thakur urged the Election Commission (EC) to look into Haryana government sanctioning a land deal to Robert Vadra, and said the EC should investigate the matter.

While talking with The Tribune at the residence of Chander Parkash Kathuria, state BJP secretary, Thakur cleared if voted to power in Haryana, a SIT would be constituted to probe the illegal land deals approved during Congress’ regime.

Taking a dig at the remarks of UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on PM Modi, during her election rally, saying those who shout loudly don’t work, the BJP’s star campaigner said, “If it is true then the farmers, youth, Dalits, women and traders are shouting in Haryana due to their grievances and pain suffered during Congress government’s regime. Are they not telling the truth?”

Replying to a question about the elections in the state, the national president said, “The people of the state want to be a part of the national growth and PM Narendra Modi also wants Haryana’s participation in the national growth. That’s why the PM requested the people of the state to give full majority to the BJP, so the benefits could directly be delivered to the people of the state.”

Attacking the Congress and the INLD regimes in the state, he said the people of the state had seen the government of the Congress and the INLD, which were infamous for rampant corruption and fear, respectively. The BJP will give a fearless and corruption-free government to the state.

Anurag holds roadshow

To garner support for Manohar Lal Khattar, BJP candidate from Karnal Assembly segment, Anurag took out a road show, in which he was accompanied by Manohar Lal Khattar, state spokesman Jagmohan Anand, state secretary Chander Parkash Kathuria. The roadshow passed through many areas of the city and supporters of the party welcomed Anurag Thakur at many places.

Kaithal, October 6
The election observer (EO) for Kaithal and Pundri, Shashi Bhushan Lal Sushil, directed the returning officers (RO) that expenditure incurred on removing banners, posters and flexes, installed at various places should also be added to the election expenditure of the respective candidates.

He said FIRs should be registered against each such person, who gets election material printed and distributed without the authority of any candidate.

Addressing a meeting of various returning officers and duty magistrates in the presence of other observers here today, he said it had come to his notice that banners and posters removed from some places by officials were installed once again.

He said videography at the time of removal of such material be conducted and time and date of removal of such hoardings or banners should be recorded and expenses be added to expenditure of concerned candidates.

He said during his tour of Pundri segment some owners of buildings complained that posters and banners on their premises had been put up without their consent. The concerned candidates should be served notices for violation of the model code of conduct. Ramesh Devkar observer for Guhla and Kalayat asked the deputy commissioner and district election officer NK Solanki to ensure that special forced be deployed on booths set up for voters of weaker sections.

Police observer Rajender Jotangia said where ever necessary, flag marches would be held and sufficient paramilitary and police force would be deployed in all the four Assembly segments of Kaithal district.

Arvind Malhan ADC-cum-RO Pundri, Narhari Singh Banger SDM-cum-RO Kaithal, Rajesh Kumar SDM-cum-RO Guhla, deputy election officer Pooja Bharti, DSP Ashish Chaudhary, and other officials were present.

Panipat, October 6
Two candidates in the fray from separate seats falling under Panipat district may face stern action for violation of the model code of conduct and FIRs may be registered against them. The candidates in question are BJP candidate for the Panipat rural segment Mahipal Dhanda and Congress candidate for Panipat City Varinder Kumar Shah.

Following publication of news items in The Tribune regarding the violation of the code, the returning officers (ROs) concerned issued show-cause notices to the two.

Confirming this, DC-cum-District Election Officer (DEO) Ajit Balaji Joshi said Mahipal Dhanda had sent his reply, whereas Shah was yet to respond.

Joshi said Mahipal claimed that he had not ridden a camel during campaigning. “We are taking legal opinion on his reply. An FIR may be lodged against him after getting a recommendation in legal opinion,” said Joshi.

“Similarly, legal opinions will be taken after getting a reply from Shah. An FIR may be lodged against him for violating the code. An explanation was also sought from the Haryana AGRO and fire brigade officials for allowing Shah to park his campaigning vehicle outside their office near Lal Batti Chowk on the New Delhi-Ambala national highway.”

Naresh Kadian, chairman, People for Animals (PFA), Haryana, had lodged a complaint with the EC against Dhanda for violating the poll code by using a camel in Ganjbad for electioneering.

Dabwali, October 6
Haryana Congress president Ashok Tanwar today accused the BJP of doublespeak on the issue of old-age pension, saying that while the party was promising to pay Rs 2,000 as old-age pension, it was giving only Rs 200 to Rs 300 in states where it was in power.

Tanwar today addressed public meetings at Ding in the Sirsa assembly segment, Gadrana and Baraguda in Kalanwali, Odhan in Dabwali and Rania and Bhuratwala in the Ellenabad assembly segment.

He said when the Congress assumed power in Haryana, the old-age pension was Rs 200 per month but it was Rs 1,000 now. This would be hiked to Rs 1,500 from November 1 if the Congress formed the government for the third time.

Addressing the meetings near the Punjab border, Tanwar said MLAs from Punjab and other states hadbeen deputed in Haryana by SAD, INLD and BJP to corrupt the electoral process.

Tanwar appealed to the voters to make up their mind by comparing what the Congress had done for them and what the BJP had done in three months of its tenure.

Dariyapur (Fatehabad), Oct 6
Fatehabad district BJP president Molu Ram Rulania today quit his party to join the INLD.

Rulania joined the INLD in the presence of Ellenabad MLA Abhay Singh Chautala at Dariyapur in Fatehabad.

Along with Rulania, Jai Singh, a member of state executive of the BJP’s Kisan Morcha; Om Parkash Godara, a member of the district executive of the party; Sanjiv Nehla, president of the Bhuna block unit of Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha; Baljit Singh, block vice-president, Naresh Rad, media in charge of Bhattu block, and some other BJP office-bearers from Fatehabad district also quit the party and joined the INLD.

Speaking on this occasion, Abhay Singh said both the BJP as well as the Congress were targeting former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala because they were afraid of his popularity.

Ambala, October 6
The prestige of some high-profile leaders is at stake at the Ambala City Assembly constituency. The future of the Haryana Jan Chetna Party (HJCP) will decide this seat as its chief Venod Sharma is contesting from here. He was elected MLAS in 2005 and 2009 elections on the Congress ticket from Amabla City.

After resigning from the Congress, he formed his party a few months ago. This time, he is locked in a multi-cornered contest. All-India Youth Congress general secretary Himmat Singh is another key contestant from this constituency. He is contesting the Assembly elections for the first time. Though he is said to be a supporter of Rajya Sabha member Kumari Selja, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s supporters are campaigning for him. As per sources, Rahul Gandhi and former Punjab Chief Minster Capt Amarinder Singh will address rallies in his support.

The SAD has allotted ticket to INLD district president Balwinder Punia. In the last Assembly elections, the SAD had unsuccessfully contested this seat. This time, when Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal is the star campaigner of the SAD-INLD alliance, this seat has become prestigious for the alliance. Several ministers and MLAs of Punjab have been assigned the duty to handle this seat.

Party sources said that Badal, deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal and former SGPC chief Bibi Jagir Kaur would campaign to garner Sikh votes.

Fatehabad, October 6
Chief Parliamentary Secretary Prahlad Singh Gillankhera is facing acid test on the Fatehabad Assembly seat, where he is facing tough contest from Balwan Singh Daulatpuria of the INLD, Dura Ram of the HJC and Swatantar Bala Chaudhary of the BJP.

Also contesting from Fatehabad are Mohan Lal Narang of the CPM, Sushil Indora of the BSP and Deepak Bhirdana of the HLP.

Gillankhera, who contested the 1991 and 1996 Assembly elections from the erstwhile Darba seat and the 2002 bypoll from the Fatehabad Assembly seat as Haryana Vikas Party nominee, won the 2009 election as an Independent and defeated Dura Ram, who was a Congress nominee then, by a margin of over 2,800 votes. Swatantar Bala Chaudhary had contested that poll on the INLD ticket. Gillankhera, who supported the Hooda government after his victory in 2009, claims he has been seeking people’s votes on development projects he had brought to Fatehabad. “Last time, I had asked people to have ‘’vishwas’’ (faith) in me. I assured them that next time I will ask for their support on the basis of ‘vikas’ (development),” Gillankhera said.

He cites a state-of-the-art waterworks, bypass, additional grain market, proposal for new hospital building, construction of streets through interlocking tiles and plethora of other projects, besides a Rs 23500-crore central project of a nuclear power plant at Gorakhpur. Gillankhera’s son Anandbir Singh, district president of the Youth Congress, has launched his father’s website where all works done by him have been highlighted.

While HJC’s Dura Ram is making all efforts to avenge his defeat, INLD’s Balwan Singh Daulatpuria, who is banking on 56,500 Jat voters and Swatantar Bala Chaudhary, who is dependent on Modi wave and Punjabi votes of the town, are also in the race. Gillankhera’s fate will depend much on how Jat voters of the constituency respond and also on whether he would be able to get the same response from town that he got in 2009.

Sohna, October 6
Sohna is 30-minute drive from the Millennium City and it is being projected as the new lucrative part of the ever-expanding Greater Gurgaon in swanky advertisements of the Haryana Government and real estate majors. But the story behind towering condominiums is not that rosy.

Apart from the boost in real estate prices or may be tourism around Damdama Lake and sulphur springs, Sohna lacks infrastructure and civic amenities. The area is called a "dark shadow" of Gurgaon and people say that the place stands where it was a decade ago. No major development work started here.

Problems galore

The 34-km stretch on the Sohna Road between Rajiv Chowk and Bhondsi and then to Nuh lacks street lights and is accident-prone. This stretch, residents say, is an example of poor condition of roads in the segment.

The sate of education is no better. It can be gauged from the handful of regular teachers at a government boys school near the building of the Sohna civic body. School authorities have roped in passouts from a higher secondary school on temporary basis.

The farmers from the Tauru block struggle to get water for their crops. They claim that they hardly get four to five hours of electricity a day.

The only thing that has seen "growth" is the mushrooming of illegal stone crushers, posing law and order and health issues to residents. The residents blame all previous legislators for this. None of them lived here. The previous two MLAs were from Bhiwani and Gurgaon. The constituency has changed loyalties several times, but none of the legislators fulfilled their promises, residents say.

Political scenario

The seat is vacant as Congress turncoat Dharambir Singh had joined the BJP in the run up to the recent Lok Sabha elections. He is the MP from Bhiwani-Mahendragarh. The runner-up in the previous Assembly poll, Zakir Hussain, contested on the BSP ticket. He has switched loyalty and is an INLD candidate from Nuh.

For five years, Dharambir talked about the development in the area under the Congress regime. After joining the BJP, he changed his tone and accused the Hooda government of indifferent attitude towards the segment and hampering development in the area. "I have joined an organisation that promises development," he said.

Hussain said the previous MLA lacked initiative. He, though, did not elaborate as he is no longer a candidate from here.

Sonepat, October 6
Soon after becoming the Chief Minister in 2005, Bhupinder Singh Hooda initiated plans to upgrade the facilities in the Gohana Assembly constituency in general and Gohana town in particular. As a result of this initiative, a number of development projects were sanctioned and completed in the last 10 years.

In the 2009 elections, Jagbir Singh Malik of the Congress registered a win against Atul Malik of the INLD by a margin of 13,015 votes. Jagbir polled 35,248 against Atul's 22,233 votes out of the total 82,970 votes. Independent Kitab Singh Malik remained at the third position with 10,336 votes.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, despite Modi wave, the Gohana assembly constituency was the third in the district to give a lead to Congress candidate Jagbir Singh Malik, who polled 35,466 votes against 33,726 votes of the BP's Ramesh Kaushik and 28,395 of the INLD's Padam Singh Dahiya.

There are 1,54,000 voters, including 83,958 men and 70,042 women in the constituency as per the electoral roll.

The Baroda constituency was de-reserved in 2009 and at present, it is represented by Sri Krishan Hooda as Congress MLA in the Assembly. In the last Assembly poll, he defeated INLD's Kapoor Singh Narwal by a margin of 25,343 votes. He polled 56,225 votes against Narwal's 30,882 votes. Narwal has also been again nominated as the INLD candidate from this constituency for the coming elections.

As far as the 2014 Lok Sabha elections are concerned, the Hooda factor worked in the constituency and Congress candidate Jagbir Singh Malik got 43,439 votes out of the 1,09,640 total votes polled. INLD's Padam Singh Dahiya and BJP's Ramesh Kaushik got 29,417 and 26,110 votes, respectively.

According to the latest electoral roll, the number of voters has gone up to 1,61,755, including 90,503 men and 71,252 women.