Amitabh Shukla | Ambala
Congress, it seems, is
reinventing itself in poll bound Haryana as it has practically abandoned the
Gandhi family and instead projected its regional satrap as an alternative to
its two top leaders.
In the prosperous GT
Road belt of the State, stretching from the
outskirts of Delhi on both sides of
National Highway 1 upto Ambala, the appearance of the two Gandhis — party
president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul in publicity material is rare.
Instead, it is two-time Chief Minister of the State, Bhupinder Singh Hooda who
juts out of the hoardings, buntings and the wall paintings of the party.
Most of them were put up just
before the model code of conduct was put in place. Though a few have been
removed fearing strict enforcement of the electoral laws by the Election
Commission, a lot of banners and wall writings still remain, giving the message
loud and clear that the party is seeking votes in the name of “all round
development” carried out in the last 10 years of Hooda Government rather than
the “charisma” of the Gandhi family.
A Hooda loyalist in Karnal summed
up. “This is an Assembly election. People here know Hooda so seeking votes in
his name is natural”. The owner of Lovely Dhaba near the 110 milestone,
Narender Singh is more forthcoming. “In the land of the Jats, personalities do
matter a lot in elections. BJP has Narendra Modi, INLD has Om Prakash Chautala
and so Congress has Hooda,” he said, adding, “People of the State cannot
connect to the Gandhis the way they can with Hooda”.
Congress sources say that all the
publicity material at the local level has been approved by Hooda himself. He
had even approved the copy writing in the slogans which eulogise him, hail him
as a leader with vision, someone who has brought smile on the lips of every Haryanvi
and given them something or the other. All the schemes of the State Government
have been listed while those of the UPA Government in a similar period
completely forgotten.
BJP sees an advantage for itself
as Hooda is promoting himself in a big way. “There is massive unpopularity
against Hooda. He is facing anti-incumbency of four terms — two of UPA
Government at the Centre and two of his own,” said sitting BJP MLA Anil Vij,
contesting from Ambala. He said Hooda has hijacked his party and mow both are
on their way out.
The mood in the Congress office
in Ambala is pessimistic. Those in office do indulge in political speculations
but agree that it was an uphill task third time round. Asked about the party
abandoning the Gandhi family in Haryana, a party office-bearer in Ambala
refused to be named but spoke like a seasoned pollster. “The law of diminishing
electoral return has caught up with them. The Lok Sabha elections exposed their
(Gandhi family’s) charisma or lack of it so there was no point going with their
names again. Maybe after some time…” he summed up.
In the GT
Road belt from Murthal to Ambala, real estate is a
booming business. The easy process of Change of Land Use (CLU) in the last 10
years has ensured prosperity to all - those giving permission in the State
Government, the land owners, the builders and anyone associated with the
building business, the brick-kiln owners, cement and building material sellers
to the numerous property dealers dotting on both sides of the six-lane road,
carved out during the regime of Sher Shah Suri in the medieval period. Hooda
believes this belt will vote for him overwhelmingly.
Though the Congress does not
declare chief ministerial candidates in advance as a matter of policy, Hooda
has declared himself the candidate of the party. In the public meetings he has
addressed, Hooda is seeking votes on his own name, on his claims of giving
something to every section of the society rather than invoking the Gandhi
family for the polls.
In the State Congress, critics of
Hooda say that hitherto no one in the party had heard about over reliance on
one person and promoting personality cult at the State level. “If Hooda
delivers Haryana to the Congress single handedly, he emerges a hero and the
cult of the Gandhi family gets demolished. If he doesn’t, the Congress will be
back to its old ways,” a senior party leader said. (October 10, 2014 )
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