Chautala’s ditch effort to woo Gurgaon voters

‘‘Speeches are made to help people make up their mind. But by turning up in such huge numbers in this chilly weather, you have shown that your mind is already made up,’’ he said to a crowd numbering more than a thousand in the Ramlila Ground in the heart of old Gurgaon. Chautala’s INLD has fielded Gopi Chand Gehlot from the area. Gehlot had won this seat as an Independent last time.

‘‘The question is not whether my party wins or not. The question is whether good governance is put in place,’’ he said, launching a scathing attack on the Congress for its ‘‘anti-poor policies’’. He alleged that the Congress had merely inherited the systems of the British Raj and followed their policy of ‘‘divide and rule to suit its own interests’’.

Taking a dig at the distribution of tickets and rebels in Congress, Chautala said: ‘‘There is not a single rebel in my party. There is too much infighting in the Congress. Even today, there are as many as 14 claimants for the CM’s chair. Tickets have been bought and sold for crores.’’

On his party’s crushing defeat in the last Lok Sabha polls, Chautala said: ‘‘We are wondering as to how could we lose, the Congress is wondering as to how could it win and the voters are wondering as to how could they commit such a blunder…Congress will go the BJP way and it’s overconfidence will be it’s undoing.’’ He went on enumerate the various monetary benefits he had provided to Haryana through ‘‘people-friendly schemes’’.

Taking credit for Gurgaon’s ‘‘world-class status’’, the CM concluded on an emotional note with a warning, though: ‘‘Agar INLD ke ummidwar Gurgaon zila mein haarte hain to yeh aapki badnaami hogi. If you don’t appreciate the good we have done, we’ll be discouraged…It is difficult to get work done from a discouraged man. So please, don’t disappoint us.’’