Locked in a close fight, how Congress is planning to pin down BJP in Haryana

Phogat, along with fellow wrestlers such as Sakshi Malik, Anshu Malik, and Bajrang Punia, has been a vocal face of the protest against the alleged sexual harassment by former Wrestling Federation of India chief and ex-BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

Phogat also seems to have given warring factions in the Congress an issue to unite around, with several leaders such as the Hoodas, Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Singh Surjewala, and Sirsa MP Kumari Selja publicly backing the wrestlers in their protest and demanding that Phogat be treated on par with an Olympic gold medalist. Hooda has gone as far as to say he would have ensured a Rajya Sabha berth for the wrestler if he had the number in the Assembly. The Nayab Singh Saini-led BJP government recently announced that Phogat would be treated on par with a silver medalist but the perks associated with it are likely to be put on hold as the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) is in force.

The Congress’s renewed aggression comes from its increased vote share in the recent Lok Sabha elections, where it garnered 43% of the votes, up from 28% in 2019. It also opened its account in the state after 10 years, winning five of the 10 Lok Sabha seats on offer. Going by the Lok Sabha results, the BJP won the most votes in 44 of Haryana’s 90 Assembly seats. The Congress was not far behind at 42, with the AAP leading in the remaining four Assembly segments.

Another issue that the Congress is likely to target the BJP on is the farmers’ demand for a legal guarantee on Minimum Support Price (MSP). Even as the state government recently announced the procurement of all 24 crops on MSP, farmers did not seem to be impressed and termed the move a “political stunt”.

Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi met farmer leaders from Haryana and five other states on July 24 to hear out their issues even as Bhupinder Hooda has extended support to the protesting farmers.

The BJP, which faced backlash from the farmers in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, seems to be doing its bit to placate the community. Last week, the Saini government released the first instalment of the Rs 525-crore bonus for nearly 5.2 lakh farmers. The Rs 2,000 per acre aid was announced for the sowing of Kharif crops following a deficit in the Monsoon rains this year. The BJP government, in an attempt to beat anti-incumbency, has also announced a slew of other welfare schemes, given more financial powers to sarpanches, rectified processes to disburse social security benefits, and given MSP to farmers.

The Congress, meanwhile, has also taken a tough stand against the Agnipath scheme, with Gandhi repeatedly promising to scrap it during the Lok Sabha campaign. “It is because of the Agnipath scheme that youth of the state are not joining the army. Earlier, around 5,500 youth were recruited but through Agnipath, the numbers have gone down to 900, of which only 200 would remain permanent after four years. Where will the remaining go? They will only add to the thousands of unemployed youth,” said Hooda, who comes from a family of freedom fighters and is an alumnus of the Sainik School, Kunjpura.

Last month, the state government announced 10% horizontal reservation for Agniveers — as the recruits under the scheme are known — in government jobs such as constables, mining guards, forest guards, jail wardens, and special police officers (SPO). However, the first eligible batch will be done with its Army service only in 2026.

Like the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, unemployment is likely to dominate the campaign for the Assembly elections too. The state government’s recent recruitment drives, including the “employment guarantee” through the Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam, are likely to be stalled due to the MCC.