Adampur set for keen contest

CHANDIGARH, June 1: Last month when former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal decided to camp in Adampur to campaign for his son, Kuldeep Bishnoi, fo...

CHANDIGARH, June 1: Last month when former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal decided to camp in Adampur to campaign for his son, Kuldeep Bishnoi, for the June 3 byelection he appeared to be a worried man. And it was not the searing heat (with mercury touching the 47-degree mark), instead it was the challenge posed by the ruling Haryana Vikas Party (HVP) in his hometown. Adampur has been known as his pocketborough for three decades.

With two weeks of fierce campaigning coming to a halt today, it is clear that his worries were not without reason, for the stage is set for an interesting contest between the Congress and the HVP. While the HVP, with Chief Minister Bansi Lal’s son, Surinder Singh (MP), as the main strategist of the party, is making an unprecedented bid to upstage Congress candidate Kuldeep Bishnoi.

While the prized status given to the area by Bhajan Lal during his chief ministership is proving to be an advantage for Kuldeep, his main adversary, Master Hari Singh of the HVP-BJP combine, has been trying to woo the voters by doling out promises of “more jobs and development projects”. In fact, dozens of HVP office-bearers and ministers, led by Bansi Lal, made the constituency their base for days in their attempt to convince the electorate through a high-visibility campaign. Their slogan: “You vote for Masterji and we will take good care of you.”

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The strategy seems to have turned into a close contest what initially seemed to be a cakewalk for the Bhajan Lal clan. However, the absence of some senior leaders and ministers of the BJP, which is plagued with differences over Bansi Lal’s policies, may affect their candidate’s prospects. Others in the fray include Rajesh Godara of the Haryana Lok Dal (Rashtriya) and Pradeep Chaudhary of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

Earlier this year, the HLD(R) managed to get about 50,000 votes in the Adampur assembly segment for the Lok Sabha elections but party president Om Prakash Chautala had to nominate a fresh face after his protege, Master Hari Singh, crossed over to the HVP. Though all the main contestants are claiming that they will emerge victorious, it remains to be seen if they can humble the Bhajan Lal clan, which has won the seat seven times since 1968, at the home turf.