Will CPM return to Haryana Assembly after 37 yrs? Hope floats after Congress nod

The CPI(M) succeeded in getting a seat even as the state Congress held out against other INDIA allies such as the Aam Aam Party and Samajwadi Party.

After filing his nomination Thursday, Prakash expressed his gratitude to the Left and Congress for fielding him. Apart from raising the issues plaguing the people, as well as taking on corruption and criminals, Prakash said, he would talk about the PDS. “Currently, only wheat and rice are supplied under the PDS. But we will try to ensure supply of 14 items, on the pattern of our (the Left’s) government in Kerala.”

Prakash will be facing the BJP’s Ghanshyam Saraf, the sitting MLA from the seat and a former minister.

A former leader of bank employees, Prakash took voluntary retirement as chief manager of UCO bank in 2014, saying he wanted to dedicate himself to the struggles of farmers and workers, apart from raising social issues.

His non-political outfit Jan Sangharsh Samiti is well-known locally for taking up the causes of traders and common people in case of high-handedness from any quarter.

A close associate of Prakash, farmer leader Dayanand Poonia, says he was “brutally tortured” in police custody during a long strike by staffers of state-owned Haryana roadways in 2018. “He was also arrested when he led farmers in Bhiwani district during the agitation against the three farm laws in 2020-21.”

CPI(M) Haryana secretary Surender Singh says: “Om Prakash is the most popular face in Bhiwani for leading people in distress, and for fighting for the safety of women and other deprived sections.”

The only time a CPI(M) candidate has won in Haryana Assembly elections was when Harpal Singh emerged victorious in Tohana in 1987. In that election, the Left parties contested in alliance with the Lok Dal (B), formed by Devi Lal, who was at the height of his popularity then. The CPI(M) and CPI were given one each seat, and both won, including the CPI’s Harnam Singh from Shahabad.

In 1991, the CPI(M) contested four Assembly seats in alliance with the Haryana Vikas Party (HVP) of former chief minister Bansi Lal, but could not win any. However, its nominee Prithvi Singh Gorakhpuria lost from Fatehabad by a thin margin.

Besides these two elections, the CPI(M) and CPI have contested Haryana Assembly polls on their own as well, without making any mark virtually. This is despite the Left being active on the ground in the state, leading protests related to farmers, labourers, women and employees.

In neighbouring Punjab, the Left has been comparatively stronger, though even here it has not been able to win any Assembly or Lok Sabha seat in 22 years.

Last time a Left candidate won was when the CPI, as a Congress ally, got two Assembly seats in Punjab in 2002. The CPI(M) last won an Assembly seat in Punjab in 1992.