P E R S P E C T I V E

HARYANA VOTES 2014 All you want to know of Haryana polls As the state goes to the polls on October 15 to elect a new Vidhan Sabha, The Tribune brings a ready reckoner on the main contestants in the fray and the issues at stake in all 90 constituencies for you to pull out and keep.

• Navigating the poll special

ground zero
Small margins will decide the big fight
Caste considerations apart, voters now want good, clean governance, a responsive leadership, jobs, security and all-round development.
Raj Chengappa
Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s voice sounded gravelly over the telephone yesterday as he rushed off to accompany Sonia Gandhi at a rally in Tosham. After addressing 130 rallies ever since the Assembly elections were announced in Haryana, it is a wonder the Chief Minister hasn’t lost his voice altogether. If Hooda has set himself a punishing schedule it is because it is a high-stakes battle for him and his party, the Congress.

HARYANA VOTES 2014
All you want to know of Haryana polls
As the state goes to the polls on October 15 to elect a new Vidhan Sabha, The Tribune brings a ready reckoner on the main contestants in the fray and the issues at stake in all 90 constituencies for you to pull out and keep.

BJP hoping ‘Modi wave’ will work

The BJP is depending on ‘Modi wave’ and anti-incumbency against the ‘misrule’ of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Star campaigner and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stepped up attack on dynastic politics by raking the issue of the Vadra-DLF land deal approved by the Hooda government. INLD’s ‘bahubali’ image has also been attacked by Modi in a bid to rganiza non-Jat votes.

strength: Intense campaign by Modi and his Cabinet colleagues, ‘Modi wave’ and strong anti-incumbency.

weakness: Lack of organisational setup and reliance on turncoats as candidates

Cong plank development

The Congress is being led from the front by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda who is banking on the development plank and the achievements of his government in the last two terms. The party is highlighting the issue of price rise at the Centre and is running an aggressive campaign against the INLD on issues of “corruption and nepotism” during the INLD rule.

strength: Claim of clean image of Hooda and the state’s rise in sports and development; “number one Haryana” campaign despite attack by Opposition.

weakness: Anti-incumbency and charges of arbitrary change of land use (CLU) against the government and specific charges of bribes for CLU against some MLAs.

HJC, JCP eyeing non-Jat votes

A former alliance partner of the BJP, the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) led by Kuldeep Bishnoi is like all regional parties — essentially a ‘family affair’. After being cold-shouldered by the BJP, the HJC broke its alliance with the saffron party and forged an alliance with the Jan Chetna Party headed by Venod Sharma, a one-time confidant of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

strength: Headed by non-Jat leaders, both parties are hoping to consolidate non-Jat votes in an election fought on caste lines.

weakness: Both parties are a one-man army, with the presidents being the most prominent face, and little cadre base.

BSP doing an Uttar Pradesh

By roping in former Karnal MP and prominent Brahmin face Arvind Sharma as the chief ministerial candidate, the BSP has tried to replicate its UP’s social engineering formula in Haryana. The party is relying on anti-incumbency in the wake of atrocities on Dalits and other downtrodden sections to cash in on the non-Jat votes.

strength: Roping in prominent candidates from all communities and dissidents from other parties.

weakness: Dwindling mass base and lack of strong candidates with grassroot support.

INLD banks on Jats, sympathy

The INLD is banking on the charisma of Om Parkash Chautala, consolidation of Jat vote and sympathy wave for Chautala who is in jail on account of his conviction in the JBT scam. The party has given ticket to many turncoats in a bid to boost its prospects. It is also seeking votes in the name of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal, whose 100th birth anniversary was observed as a big political rally in Jind on September 25 to consolidate the party’s position.

strength: Large following among Jats that comprise over 24 per cent of the state's populatio0; cashing in on anti-incumbency; projecting Chautala as the chief ministerial nominee.

weakness: Lack of leadership as Chautala and his son Ajay are out on parole and will return to Tihar Jail after polling; setback following conviction of its leadership and uncertainty on who will run the government as Chautala is in jail for 10 years.

Navigating the poll special

Below is an alphabetic list of the constituencies in Haryana, accompanied by their respective number, which can be correlated on the map depicting 2009 Assembly poll results. From pages 12 to 14 you will find brief profiles of the main candidates in all 90 constituencies, arranged vertically in alphabetic order.