JHAJJAR, FEB 20: In a quick counter-offensive to the splash made by Jat chieftain Om Prakash Chautala with Andhra Pradesh ``CEO'' N. Chandrababu Naidu two days ago, Congress president Sonia Gandhi decided to raise a bit of dust herself in a whistle-stop tour of five Haryana Assembly constituencies today.Descending from the blue in a big Pawan Hans whirlybird (helicopter) at Jhajjar's open-air stadium after stops in Jagadhari and Narwana she warned Haryana voters in halting Hindi against the BJP's ``designs against the Constitution and democracy'' and its ``opportunistic alliance'' with Chautala.With a 60-ft high, pearly white, hot-air hand (the Congress symbol) balloon looming large over a bellowing-capacity crowd of over 6,000, Sonia Gandhi said it all in 14-minutes flat. ``The BJP wants to undermine the Constitution which has sustained Indian democracy for 50 years. Communal forces are disrupting the country's social fabric by making government employees part and parcel of their politicalorder.''Continuing her attack on the BJP Government, she said it was only a front for communal organisations, which were ruling by proxy. Jahan jahan BJP aur iske sathion ki sarkaren hein, wahan ek phirka parast sangathan ka kanoon ar hukm chalta hai (The writ and law of a communal organisation runs in all states where the BJP or its allies are in power).'' she said.Reciting the pro-poor deeds of Pandit Nehru, Indira Gnadhi and Rajiv Gandhi, she said the ruling party's ``policies have worsened the plight of the poor in the country and lowered the image of the India in the world''.She got the maximum response from the farmer-dominated crowd when she Central Government should remember that India is an agriculture-based country. If the farmer smiles after getting a good price for his produce, the country can smile.''However, the party slogan of stable government reiterated by Sonia sounded a little incongruous with Bhajan Lal sulking behind her on the stage and Bhupinder Singh Hooda hogging all thelimelight with his candidate Choudhury Phool Chand contesting on the Congress ticket.Jhajjar itself provides a miniature picture of the complex situation in Haryana. For, all is not well in the opposing camp either. An Independent candidate, Daryao Singh Rajora, who enjoys Chief Minister Chautala's covert blessings, is said to be the nearest rival of the Congress candidate. In the triangular contest, the BJP candidate Ch. Chand Ram comes only third in the line.The local leaders attending the rally said Congress fortunes hinge on the fact that the Independents are going to be the ``decisive factor'' in Haryana's assembly results this time. A piqued Chautala is said to be backing at least 11 Independents to spite the BJP (who took a bigger share of the cake than what he would have wanted 29 instead of the 15 he offered).As a matter of fact, whoever enjoys Chautala's support stands a good chance of making it. And, as local Congress leaders quite gleefully pointed out ``once they win, Independents arealways for sale''.But at least three former PCC chiefs and Bhajan Lal himself in the fray and all of them candidates for chief ministership in the event of the Congress making it with breakaway MLAs ``infighting is what can do the party in''.
