Close to Millennium City, Pataudi lags ages behind

Sumedha Sharma

Once a princely state, Pataudi is a satellite town of glitzy Gurugram, situated 30 km away. It houses one of the biggest granaries at Haileymandi. Once a renowned agricultural belt, it is transforming into a warehouse hub, with a majority of fields being converted.

The area is not just in stark contrast to Millennium City, but is way behind its counterparts such as Sohna and Badshahpur. Pataudi Palace and its Bollywood connection seem to be the only claim to fame for this dusty town, that struggles with various infrastructural and civic woes.

Potholed and tattered roads, poor educational and health facilities, lack of access to higher education and rampant unemployment ail the constituency. Though SC segment, the constituency is an inseparable part of Ahirwal, with a majority of voters being Ahirs.

Despite rampant civic and infrastructural issues, it has been known to vote on caste lines. With polling less than a month away, voters are seen taking up local issues. The entire segment considers unemployability post land acquisition as the biggest poll issue.

“Our land was acquired for the expressway and compensation was nowhere near what farmers in Manesar got. After losing our land, we have no job opportunities as not a single industry has been set up here despite repeated requests,” said Shyam Lal Yadav, a resident of Fazilwas.

Women, who form almost 50 per cent of the voters, cite lack of access to higher educational institutions as one of the long-pending issues.

“We are the biggest sufferers as nobody talks about women’s issues here. We have just two government colleges here and have to go to Gurugram for higher studies. It is a tedious process and many girls have to give up education. There is no dedicated transport and eve-teasing is the biggest problem we face. We thought that things would change with a woman MLA, but the story was the same after five years,” said Sudhiksha Sharma of Pataudi.

As in other segments of Gurugram, there is anti-incumbency. Lack of a strong contender from the Congress and the INLD clearly hints at voters’ inclination towards BJP.

Total voters 2,17,611
1,15,728 Men
1,01,879 Women
4 Third gender

Probable candidates 
BJP: Satyaprakash Jaravta
Congress: Sudhir Chowdhary
AAP: Narain Bajariya

Legislatorspeak  

An amount of Rs 125 crore was sanctioned for farmers who had lost their crops in 2015 and 2016. The constituency received Rs 300 crore for roads in villages and allied infrastructure. Some schools were upgraded and Manesar’s college for women was opened.— Bimla Chaudhary, BJP 

Oppositionspeak  

There has been no development in Pataudi. Key issues like laying a bypass, opening new higher educational institutions and repairing roads remains unaddressed. Neither the MLA nor the local MP was ever available for the people. — Capt Ajay Yadav, Congress leader