As Cong gears up for post result manoeuvring,INLD,BJP keep fingers crossed

On the other hand,the INLD is facing these elections at a time when two of its top leaders — former chief minister Om Prakash Chautala and his MLA son Ajay Chautala have been jailed in the JBT recruitment scam.

This is also the first political test of state BJP chief Ram Bilas Sharma,who was made the party president a few months ago amid strong opposition within BJP.

Meanwhile,the HJC led by Kuldeep Bishnoi,is following a strategy similar to that of the Congress — no symbol but open to support any worker who can contest as independents.

On Sunday,state Congress chief Phool Chand Mullana who though had resigned following the 2009 poll debacle but his resignation was not accepted as he enjoyed the support of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda,seemed to be a relaxed man.

When contacted,his phone was received by an associate,who said: “Woh kahin gaye hain. Aise elections aate jate rehte hain. (He has gone somewhere and these kind of elections hold no importance).”

It is another matter that candidates in 147 wards of the seven corporations claim to be Congress candidates.

Hoardings and banners put up by such candidates have pictures of Hooda and many Congress leaders. While the Congress officially has not explained its reason to contest without the party symbol,but BJP MLA from Ambala,Anil Vij,has his own take on this.

“They are ashamed of the ‘haath’ (Congress symbol). The party slogan — ‘Congress ka hath,aam aadmi ke sath — has been changed to ‘Congress ka hath,damaad ke sath’. The party has hardly done anything for the common man and instead had been serving the family interests at the central and the state,so they no contesting on party symbol is quite understandable,” claimed Vij.

The INLD,meanwhile,has joined the fray with a vengeance as this is going to be a show of strength of Chautala junior Abhay Singh,who is holding the reins in the absence of his father and elder brother.

The result will actually be seen as a mandate on acceptance of Chautalas in urban areas.

“We have put our best foot forward. Branded as a rural based party,we took this opportunity to gain a foothold in the urban areas of the state. We are expecting great results and will ensure that people’s faith is maintained post elections,” said state INLD chief Ashok Arora.