Sonia Gandhi’s fan following was 3-km-long in a constituency where no Congress candidate has won in the past 15 years. At Pehowa, people came on foot, on cycles and on tractors to catch a glimpse of the Congress president. The crowd cheered as she gripped the mike and urged them to vote out the INLD Government.‘‘Mein janti hoon, Haryana ki maujuda sarkar ke khilaf kafi gussa hai aur gussa nikalane ka sahi mauka chunav hai (I know there is a lot of anger against the present Haryana government. The right way to express it is through the election),’’ she said. Without naming the Chautala clan, she said: ‘‘Rajniti aur shasan ko chand vyaktiyon ne apne hit sadhan ka zariya banaya hai (Some people are in politics to reap benefits).’’Later, she broke the security cordon to greet the crowd. ‘‘She is so beautiful,’’ screamed an awestruck Haryanvi dowager, as Sonia shook hands with women and patted the children before boarding her chopper.All eyes remained glued to the sky till the helicopter became a speck and finally disappeared. ‘‘We know it is a political affair, but we would have walked up to Delhi to listen to her,’’ gushed Amar Singh.But it was a snub for senior Congressmen, who are vying for the chief minister’s post, as their party president chose to campaign with Bhajan Lal by her side. Former state chief Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Union Minister Kumari Selja were allowed access to the podium only at Panipat.Bhajan Lal accompanied Sonia at Naulatha, Pehowa, Bawal and Nuh on the first day of her two-day campaign. But the Congress president took care to duck queries on the chief ministerial candidate. The party’s new working president, Randeep Singh Surjewala, was conspicuous by his absence at Pehowa today. But Sonia is travelling to his constituency Narwana tomorrow to address a rally.
