Uchana Kalan, October 10
The BJP chief, Amit Shah, was today unsparing in his attack on the Congress and INLD. From former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Bhupinder Singh Hooda and INLD chief Om Parkash Chautala, all came under sharp attack for, what he called, their “failures” during their respective tenure as the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers.

“I wished to counter Chautala during campaigning. Since the Delhi High court has directed him to surrender, my wish will remain unfulfilled,” Shah said during his Uchana Kalan rally in support of party candidate Prem Lata Singh, wife of former Congress leader Birender Singh.

He asked people not to fall in the trap of jailed leaders and, instead, vote for BJP candidates for the development of Haryana. “You must reject Chautala and his party, as he has declared to take oath as the Chief Minister from Tihar Jail. Do you want to go to Tihar Jail to get your works done?” he asked party workers.

He took potshots at Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and former PM Singh. “After 10 years of the Congress misrule, India has got a Prime Minister who dares to speak on all issues with facts.”

Shah further said: “Our country suffered a lot, as we had ‘Mauni baba’ as our Prime Minister for 10 years. He spoke only at two places — in his home and before Sonia. The country never listened any announcement or statement from earlier PM Manmohan Singh, as per his position.”

Fatehabad, October 10
Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today urged people to vote BJP to power and end the rule of “arrogance” and “loot” in Haryana.

“People of Haryana have had enough of ‘henkri’ (arrogance) and ‘loot-khasoot’. The time is apt to bring in a clean government that focuses on development,” she said during an election rally here. The BJP has fielded Swatantar Bala Chaudhary from Fatehabad.

The minister sounded confident of a good showing in Haryana. “The BJP had successfully achieved the target of 272-plus seats in the Lok Sabha elections, though there were questions on the party’s performance. Now, the target is to bag more than 50 seats in the Haryana Assembly. People are again skeptical, but the BJP will prove them wrong this time as well.”

She claimed that Prime Minister cared for the state. And to drive home her point, the minister said four leaders from the state — she herself, Rao Inderjit Singh, Krishan Pal Gurjar and Gen (retd) VK Singh — were part of the Union Cabinet.

“It is time to repay Modi by voting for the BJP that has taken care of all sections of society in its manifesto.”

Gurgaon, october 10
Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu has demanded the resignation of Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in the wake of a High Court’s decision to disqualify five MLAs who defected to the Congress.

“After the HC’s order, it has been proved that Hooda was leading a minority government for the past five years. Thus, he does not have the moral or constitutional right to remain the Chief Minister. If Hooda fails to resign on his own, the Governor should sack him,” the Minister said during a rally here today.

When asked that a few days were left for elections, Naidu said it could not be a valid plea to allow an unconstitutional government to continue. 

* Throwing an open challenge to the Akalis, cricketer- turned- politician Navjot Singh Sidhu said on Friday that he is ready for a debate on any issue with them

* In Panchkula to woo voters for BJP candidate Gian Chand Gupta, he launched a veiled attack on the SAD for tying up with the INLD in Haryana to fight against the BJP

* Addressing a large gathering at village Rattewali in Barwala today, he floored the voters with his inimitable diction, speech and word play peppered with Hindi and Punjabi couplets

Faridabad, October 10
Four hours of wait is perhaps not a big issue for many when it comes to watching and listening to a famous cinestar during an election campaign. This happened at Punjabi Bhawan in Sector 16 here today when hundreds of local residents eagerly awaited the arrival of their heartthrob and Gurdaspur MP Vinod Khanna. The occasion was an election meeting organised by the Punjabi Sabha to facilitate local BJP nominee Vipul Goel.

“Though a wait of three-four hours for an important guest can be very annoying, but the enthusiasm with which the BJP supporters kept the stage entertaining, people did not mind the cinestar’s absence,” remarked Saurabh, a BJP supporter and a resident of Sector 16. He said people remained patient in anticipation of Khanna’s arrival, but the party workers could have used the time better in campaigning to strengthen their vote bank.

Though many people in Punjab have seen Khanna campaign in Gurdaspur from where he won the parliamentary elections earlier this year, for the people of Faridabad, it was a huge disappointment as they had been waiting for him since the afternoon. Khanna had to fly to Delhi directly from Kalka after addressing an election rally due to inability of the helicopter to land after dark.

BJP nominee Vipul Goel said the tremendous response received by him during the function was indicative of the “BJP wave” in his constituency. “I am disappointed and it would have been wonderful if Vinod Khanna could come. People are disappointed but they know he was coming to canvass for me and they have assured me that the cinestar’s absence will not make any difference to their love and support for me.”

The event threw many incidents that kept the BJP supporters in good cheer. When the compeer announced that Asha Hooda was the next speaker to seek votes for Vipul Goel, the audience was taken by surprise only to learn that this Asha Hooda was not the wife of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, a staunch Congressman, but a leader of the BJP’s women cell who shared her name and surname with the CM’s wife.

“Badlein Haryana ke halaat, chaloo chalen Modi ke saath (let’s change the situation of Haryana and go with Modi)” was the most repeated slogan. But as the BJP candidate received an overwhelming response from the crowd, people like Sudha, a local BJP worker, said, “We wanted to see Vinod Khanna. I will request the BJP nominee to try and get him here before the campaigning ends,” said a disappointed Sunil Kumar, who came here from Ballabgarh.

Though BJP supporters filled Punjab Bhawan, the disappointment was perceptible, but not many wanted to go home carrying it. Therefore, they changed the atmosphere into festivities by distributing “ladoos” and raising slogans. Ashok Rathi, a Congress worker who joined the BJP on the occasion, said, “Looks like this is not an election campaign but a victory celebration.”

Dinesh Raghuvanshi, a local poet, summed up the event by commenting, “Khanna or no Khanna, the upbeat mood and high spirit are a good sign for Goel.”

Faridabad, October 10
As smoke from the chimneys of the industrial units settles down, people from nearby factories take a few minutes break, sipping tea and discussing the hot political war that has turned the dull and smoky town into a war zone.

The political divisions are sharp and visible. This is apparent from the heated discussion between loyalists of various political parties, trying in their own little way, to market their preferences.

Apart from talks about heartthrobs such as Hema Malini, Raj Babbar and Vinod Khanna who have been campaigning in the area, they discuss various candidates with the same passionate zeal. But more than talking about the life of these personalities, this primarily urban constituency is abuzz with talks on the possibility of a post-poll alliance between the HJC and the INLD. As a consequence, the confident faces of the BJP supporters of Faridabad have turned brighter and more radiant. They feel the move will directly benefit the BJP.

“Newspapers have exposed a secret deal,” said Badri, a clerk in a local mill and a staunch BJP supporter. Pouring tea into a saucer and relishing each sip, he says, “The INLD and the HJC have let their supporters down. The INLD has its mass base among the Jats and the HJC banks on non-Jats. Those voting for either of these two parties are clear on whether they want a Jat or a non-Jat Chief Minister. But by this unholy alliance to capture power, both are betraying their loyalists. Therefore, the BJP should have a reason to cheer as some of the loyalists will now switch loyalty to the BJP.”

Not many agree with Badri’s theory. But some of the others workers, attired in navy blue cotton, join the debate. “Most of the people understand that for a state to progress, both the Centre and the state must have the same party in power. So, irrespective of any alliance, BJP nominee Vipul Goel is the natural choice this time,” says simple-looking but politically aware Gangu. Sudhir is quick to intervene, “BJP’s Goel will win, but not just because of Modi’s government at the Centre. He has done lot of philanthropic work in the city. This includes funding charitable schools, holding camps for cataract surgeries and working in various slum colonies even when he is not an MLA.”

A die-hard INLD supporter, Kedar interjects to refute his coworkers, “Chautala fought Kuldeep Bishnoi in Hisar and defeated him. They have been indulging in “alag rajniti (different politics)”, but they are daggers drawn and will not disappoint their followers. So, talk of an alliance is just a rumour. OP Chautala will become the Chief Minister even if he has to take oath from Tihar. He, however, concedes that the BJP is a formidable force in Faridabad and it will take a lot of effort for INLD’s Parvesh Mehta to stay in competition with the saffron party.

Nurturing different political ideologies throws up different points of view, but almost all those in the discussion feel that sitting Congress MLA Anand Kaushik requires putting in a lot of effort to stay afloat. As people here are looking for a change, the incumbent may have to bear the brunt of this despite his toil for the constituency. Therefore, his over-confidence may cost him dear.

Kalka, october 10
Actor-turned-politician Vinod Khanna’s road show pulled crows here today. He campaigned for BJP’s Kalka candidate Latika Sharma.

The BJP MP from Gurdaspur (Punjab) sought votes in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s good performance in the first 100 days of the central government. “In the past 100 days, the development rate of the country has gone up to 6 per cent. It hovered around 3 per cent to 4 per cent during the UPA regime,” he claimed.

The former actor said the era of development had begun in the country. “The process of ‘brain drain’ has taken a reverse swing after the BJP formed at the Centre.”

Bhiwani, October 10
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said INLD chief Chautala had snatched the livelihood of 3,200 families by wrongly recruiting undeserving candidates as teachers. He accused Chautala of misguiding the public by putting the blame on the Congress for his conviction in the JBT recruitment scam.

Addressing a gathering in Badhra Assembly segment in support of Congress nominee Ranbir Mahendra here today, Hooda said Chautala got the punishment for his misdeeds which were proved in the court.

“Though he is justifying his act of giving jobs to 3,200 persons, in fact he had done un-justice to those 3,200 deserving candidates, who were replaced by final list of undeserving candidates,” he alleged adding giving jobs was not a crime but selecting candidates by wrong procedure was a crime.

Hooda said if a person desires to meet Chautala, he will have to visit the Tihar jail. “How can a convicted person become the Chief Minister? He is even debarred from contesting the elections,” he said. Hooda said, “There is a rule of law in this country and Chautala proclaiming he would take oath from Tihar, shows his disregard for the law and the Constitution.”

Hooda also said this Assembly election was a fight between the truth and falsehood as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been spreading lies about his achievements. “The ‘achche din’ bubble has burst as the Modi government has failed to take even a single people-friendly decision.”

Playing an emotional card in the name of former Chief Minister Bansi Lal, the Chief Minister said victory of Mahendra would be a tribute to Bansi Lal, who is known as the maker of modern Haryana.

Chandigarh, October 10
AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh today challenged the BJP to approach court on the clearance to the DLF-Vadra land deal by Haryana Government.

Terming Robert Vadra as a private citizen, who had every right to do any legitimate business, Digvijay Singh alleged that Vadra’s name was raked up only during the poll to defame the Nehru-Gandhi family. “What law has he (Vadra) violated? If there is any violation, then people (BJP) should approach the court,” he told a press conference here today.

He took a dig at Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad’s statement yesterday charging the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government with not presenting full facts of the case before the Election Commission. “Prasad is a distinguished lawyer. He (Prasad) had been saying that Vadra should go to jail. Would Prasad tell us under what law can he (Vadra) be sent to jail? “Would Prasad, who has been using the name of Vadra to defame the Nehru-Gandhi family, please tell us if he is so agitated about the issue then why is he not filing a case against Vadra in the court of law.”

He also took at dig at the Vasundhara Raje-led Rajasthan government, asking why the state government was not taking action against land deals involving Vadra. Asked to respond to the BJP asking the Congress not to politicise the ceasefire violations by Pakistan, the AICC general secretary said the Congress never indulged in politicising national security issues.

“The Congress never indulged in politicisation of national security issues,” he said, adding that the BJP and Narendra Modi, who was then the Gujarat Chief Minister, used to politicise the unprovoked firing incidents (when UPA was in power). “Aaj unko saanp kyon soongh gya hai? (Why the BJP is silent today),” he said commenting on the ceasefire violations by Pakistan.

Sirsa, October 10
Actor-turned politician Raj Babbar today took out a roadshow for Congress candidate from the Sirsa Assembly seat Naveen Kedia here.

Babbar, who is a star campaigner of the Congress for the Assembly poll in Haryana, reached Sirsa on a helicopter in the morning and started his roadshow from Bhagwan Parshuram dharamshala.

Standing in an open jeep with Kedia, Babbar’s roadshow drove through the Begu road, Kath Mandi, Bhadra Bazaar, Rori Bazaar and Hisaria Bazaar.

The roadshow finally went to the Congress Bhawan.

Addressing people, the film actor said the Congress was the only party that could give people good governance and ensure development.

He described the BJP as an accumulation of tainted and rebel leaders from other parties, who would ditch the party any time.

Babbar said the Congress government had done much for all sections of society in the last 10 years.

“Haryana boosts of maximum old-age pension and the maximum wages under MNREGA. It is the first state to have launched the Food Security Act,” he said.

Urging people to vote for Kedia, Babbar said the Congress was set to form government in the state for the third time.

Kedia promised people that he would serve the constituency with all his heart.

Ambala, October 10
The Returning Officer of Ambala city, Priyanka Soni, has issued a notice to the HJCP chief and Ambala city candidate Venod Sharma for not carrying the name of the publisher of the pamphlets distributed in this constituency.

Soni said that the party had got some pamphlets inserted in the newspapers which did not carry the name of the publishers which was in violation of the rules. —TNS

Meham, October 10
INLD leader and Ellenabad MLA Abhay Singh Chautala alleged the BJP-led government at the Centre had misused the CBI to stall the poll campaign of former Chief Minister and INLD commander Om Prakash Chautala.

Addressing a rally here today, Abhay said when the BJP was in the Opposition, it promised that on coming to power, it would get the CBI established as an autonomous agency.

“But after its humiliating defeat in several byelections in different states and sensing its imminent rout in the state Assembly elections as well, the BJP government at the Centre misused the CBI in an attempt to inhibit Chautala's election campaign in the state,” he maintained.

Abhay pointed out his father, who was on bail till October 17, began canvassing for the INLD candidates in the state on October 3.

“However, the media and CID reports of huge turnouts at public meetings addressed by the INLD president worried the BJP government at the Centre. The Central government misused the CBI just like the Congress used to do to restrain its political opponents,” he asserted.

The INLD leader remarked while the Congress government in Haryana had wrested the land of state farmers, the BJP-led government at the Centre had imposed a ban on the export of paddy, thereby hitting the farmers.

“This shows the BJP and Congress are two sides of the same coin,” he said, adding that the people of Haryana would teach a befitting lesson to both parties in the coming elections to the state Assembly.

He appealed to the voters to vote for INLD candidate from Meham, Mahant Satish Dass, party's Rohtak nominee Raj Kumar Sharma and Kalanaur candidate Fakir Chand.

Later, speaking at Gharaunda, Abhay said his father was to address a rally here, but could not do so in light of the restraining orders of the Delhi High Court. He read out a message by his father that urged the voters to cast their votes for the INLD.

Accusing leaders like Ram Bilas Sharma, Om Parkash Dhankar, Capt. Abhimanyu and Manohar Lal Khattar, who are aspiring BJP CM aspirants, he said they had prevailed on the Centre to get the CBI to move the court. "We did not commit any crime, but gave jobs to 3,204 youth and will again give jobs to lakhs after coming to power," he promised.

Yamunanagar, October 10
The police booked sitting INLD MLA from Yamunanagar, Dilbag Singh, for assault to deter a public servant from discharging his duty and criminal intimidation.

The case was registered by the City police, Yamunanagar, on the complaint of Rajesh Gupta, in-charge, video surveillance team (VST), under Sections 353 (criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of duty), 186, 188, 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 of the IPC. Section 353 is a non-bailable.

Dr Satbir Singh Saini, the VST in-charge alleged a nukkar sabha of Dilbag Singh was going on in the premises of a motor-vehicle repairing workshop in Rampura on October 7.

He said Dilbag Singh did not have permission for holding a nukkar sabha at that place. “Dilbag misbehaved with us. When we started recording the incident, Dilbag’s workers shooed us out of the premises,” said Rajesh Gupta in his complaint to the ADC. Meanwhile, Dilbag Singh said, “I believe in peace and respect the law of the land. I can’t think about misbehaving with any person let alone a government officer.”

Ambala, October 10
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal said successive Congress governments in the state were responsible for the plight of this constituency as the local legislators had failed to perform their duties.

The SAD president, held election meetings at Kathgarh, Rasulpur, Nalyola, Bhanokheri, Jandli, Layalput Basti, Jagadhri Gate and Baldev Nagar camp in Ambala City, in support of SAD candidate Balwinder Singh Punia.

He urged the voters not to be fooled by the new outfit created by Venod Sharma claiming it had been done to create confusion. “Chautala cannot say no to us, just like Parkash Singh Badal can never say no to the Chautala family,” Sukhbir said adding, “The INLD chief will hold his first public meeting here to listen to your problems and solve them at the spot.” — TNS

Badhra, October 10
The political legacy of former Chief Minister Bansi Lal is up for grabs in the three Assembly segments which are witnessing multi- cornered contests.

The kin and loyalists of the former CM are banking on his legacy to sail through the polls while their rivals raking up the issue biased development of the ruling regime.

Badhra segment is one of the prominent segments in which Congress nominee and Bansi Lal's son, Ranbir Singh Mahendra, the INLD nominee and incumbent MLA Raghubir Singh Chillar and the BJP's young turk, Sukhvinder Sheoran, are locked in a tough triangular fight.

A well known cricket administrator, Mahendra, had served as the BCCI chief before taking the political plunge to become a MLA from Mundhal Khurd in 2005. He, however, lost to the INLD nominee in 2009 from Badhra by just 700 votes.

He is widely regarded as upright person and his clean image is helping him to give a tough fight to Chillar. He has been in regular touch with the voters even after his defeat in the previous poll. The INLD nominee however banks on thehis party's cadre and the aggressive campaigning by the party supremo, OP Chautala.

BJP's Sheoran too had been canvassing by claiming to be a loyalist of Bansi Lal. This Jat dominated segment which had spearheaded several farmer agitations in past has been very vocal in expressing its viewpoint.

In Bhiwani, the BJP MLA Ghanshyam Sharraf is pitted against the Haryana Janchetna Party and HJC joint nominee and former MLA Shivshankar Bhardwaj, Congress's Rampratap Sharma and the INLD nominee Nirmala Sharraf.

Bhardwaj is in fray on a HJCP/HJC ticket after the Congress leader Kiran Chaudhary put her weight behind Sharma in getting the party nomination. Brahmin's comprise the single largest vote bank and hold the key to victory here. In case of a division of such votes, the BJP nominee could win from here.

The Loharu seat is witnessing an interesting battle with the Congress nominee and son- in- law of Bansi Lal, Sombir Singh, facing his sister- in- law (wife's sister) Sumitra Devi of the BSP, while former Education minister Bahadur Singh is in fray on the HJC ticket. The presence Om Prakash Gora of the INLD and JP Dalal of the BJP in the fray has made it a tough contest.

The Congress nominees have been banking on the legacy of former chief minister Bansi Lal as all the parties have fielded Lal's son in Badhra and son- in- law in Loharu. The Bhiwani nominee too is a loyalist of Kiran Chaudhary (a daughter- in- law of Bansi Lal). The Opposition is raking the issue of neglect of the region during the Congress regime including drinking water problem, education, and industrial development.