Haryana Assembly polls: Cong troubleshooter against upbeat BJP
The BJP is pinning its hopes on Modi’s image. Surjewala dismisses any wave in support of Modi.
Ever since he was made the Congress’s national spokesman, Haryana Parliamentary Affairs Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala has spent much of his time defending Sonia Gandhi’s family against allegations about Robert Vadra’s land deals. Also troubleshooter for Chief Minister B S Hooda amid allegations about lopsided development, the suave and articulate “Bhai Sahib” as he is known finds his skills put to the test in Kaithal.
This is the town where Narendra Modi addressed a rally and attacked Hooda on his claims of development. The BJP is upbeat. And in an atmosphere of anti-incumbency, voters see in Surjewala a face they identify with Hooda. It is also a familiar face, for his father used to represent the constituency.
“The way our representative was troubleshooting for the government, the area should have progressed a lot more. But then the other candidates are no different, we are still thinking,” says Arun Sharma, a trader.
Surjewala reads out a list of things done by the Congress regime. “Enough, rather more than enough, was done for the constituency. Since the Lok Sabha polls, I have almost been camping here. People are happy,” he says.
Surjewala moved to Kaithal from Narwana, where he had defeated INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala in 2005 before the seat was declared reserved. In a seat with a high Jat population, other parties have sought to consolidate the non-Jat vote in view of Surjewala’s stature.
The INLD has fielded Kailash Bhagat, who lost to Surjewala last time by 22,000 votes. Bhagat is a Punjabi and is banking also on Brahmins and Banias. “The party has its own Jat vote-bank. Our candidate has a following among the non-Jat communities,” says Ram Singh of the INLD.
The Congress has won the seat three times, the INLD four times, and independents twice. The BJP has never won. Its candidate, Rao Surender Singh, was in the HJC until the day he was given the ticket. Taken into the BJP during the afternoon, given the ticket in the evening, he belongs to a backward caste.
The BJP is pinning its hopes on Modi’s image. Surjewala dismisses any wave in support of Modi. “What wave? The balloon burst in the recent bypolls. They took over on false promises and have been exposed. You cannot survive the electoral test by playing to the gallery. History will repeat itself for the Congress.”
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