Hisar poll to feel nation's mood

HISAR BYPOLL

Amitabh Shukla / Hisar

The political heat and dust has settled down and all the players have retired after a hectic electoral campaign for the most eagerly watched by-election in recent decades. The outcome of Hisar has the potential to change the way politics is played out in Haryana and the country in the run-up to the 2014 elections.

Voters of the nine Assembly segments, falling in the constituency, would line up in the morning on Thursday and are set to create an electoral history, whichever way they vote.

Being held in the shadows of the anti-graft movements of Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev and the UPA government facing a crisis in credibility due to scams and ministers and MPs finding a new home in Tihar Jail, the election would be a sort of mid-term appraisal of the Manmohan Singh government.

“We are treating it as a referendum for the Jan Lokpal Bill,” said Arvind Kejriwal of Team Anna in a series of meetings addressed over a week. He loudly proclaims, “Congress ka haath, bhrashtachar ke sath” (The hand of Congress is with the corrupt) and appeals the voters to teach Congress a lesson of its life by defeating it so badly that it is forced to bring the Lokpal bill in the next session of Parliament.

While Team Anna hogged the limelight in Hisar, Team Baba (Ramdev) worked silently. The Bharat Swabhiman Trust of the Baba, who has a considerable following here, has appealed the voters to go out in huge numbers and vote against black money. Team Baba has termed their campaign as “voter awareness programme” but the message is not lost as all the issues which the saffron clad Baba raised during his protest in Ramlila Maidan in Delhi are being raised and clearly one party is at the receiving end - Congress.

Team Baba does not have a face here but the collective strength and Yoga training and Ayurveda centres which have mushroomed here, are providing a new dimension as they have become a potent tool to expand Ramdev’s philosophy and there is only one villain, the ruling party in the Centre which “rained lathis” on the peaceful satyagrahis singing Bhajans and doing kirtan in Delhi leading to the death of a follower, a fellow Haryanvi and that too a woman.

As both Kejriwal and Baba belong to Haryana, their appeal has found sympathetic response from the people in this belt which is obviously not a Congress stronghold. Hisar was the only seat in the state which the Congress lost in the last Lok Sabha elections to no other than Bhajan Lal, whose son Kuldeep Bishnoi is the Haryana Janhit Congress-BJP candidate. Sympathy factor, alliance with BJP, clean image compared to rivals, campaign of Team Anna and Team Baba and polarisation of non-Jat votes has made Bishnoi a favourite.

As the electorate is largely looking at the by-election with a national perspective rather than a narrow, regional or caste perspective, Indian National Lok Dal candidate Ajay Chautala seems to have lost out here. The party is focusing on state level issues without a vision for the future, something which is not being appreciated in a high pitch election at which the nation is watching.

Congress is fighting with its hand tied at its back. Battling anti-incumbency of almost seven years in the state, suffering crisis at the national level due to a range of issues from corruption to infighting amongst ministers to the mishandling of the Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev protest, the staunchest party supporters do not see a chance in this election. It came third in the 2009 polls, the candidate Jai Prakash is seen as “weak” and even the illegal betting trade for the result has written off the party and said it would be a distant third. (13.10.2011)

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Hisar prepares for larger-than-life bypoll

HISAR BYPOLLS

AMITABH SHUKLA / HISAR

It is a battle between the tractor, spectacles and the hand. It is also a battle between Yellow, Green and saffron-white-green combo. Another important player does not have any colours. It is not contesting but building public opinion. The battleground is Hisar, where the campaigning for the polls ended on Tuesday.

The election symbol of Haryana Janhit Congress is the tractor and the party chief Kuldeep Bishnoi is asking the voters of this agricultural belt to swear by the main machine used in their farms and vote for him. His party colour is yellow which his supporters sport on their vehicles and have even got turbans made of the same colour. The BJP colour of saffron and green is also there but not as prominent as that of Yellow.

Indian National Lok Dal’s Ajay Chautala swears by the colour green and the party symbol spectacle. His party has put up hoardings all across the city and the constituency urging people to root out Congress which they say symbolises corruption. “C for Congress, C for Corruption,” youth brigade of the party were seen tutoring the voters in the constituency which has nine Assembly seats. While the youth wear green caps, the seniors in the party wear the green turban, made famous by Chaudhary Devi Lal, the grandfather of Ajay and former Deputy Prime Minister.

For the Congress, hand and tricolour flag go together. But for the party, the “real” candidate is Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and not Jai Prakash who is contesting the polls. Party insiders say that never had Hooda worked so hard for a bye-election. “In fact, the effort he has put in one constituency is unparalleled. It is as if he is in the fray himself,” a party leader said. He said Jai Prakash could be the candidate but the effort behind him is entirely of Hooda who has made it a prestige issue to come out with flying colours.

The fourth player in the heat and dust of Hisar is Team Anna. They do not have any symbol, except waiving the national flag at the venues which are being addressed by Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi, Manish Sisodia, amongst others on a makeshift mini truck. They do not even have a colour to boast of like the three main parties but youth wearing Jeans and red-colored T-Shirts with India Against Corruption printed on them, are distributing publicity material and urging the people to vote against Congress so that Jan Lokpal becomes a reality in the Winter Session of Parliament.

For the cynic, If Congress wins; its tally would improve by one in Parliament but would make no difference to the UPA government. If the INLD wins, it will get its first member in the Lok Sabha and if the HJC-BJP wins, it would carry forward the legacy of Bhajan Lal, the master tactician of Haryana.

But the people of the constituency know that the outcome could well determine the course of politics in Haryana and country. Intensive campaign by all the four players has ensured that each and every voter knows the importance of his ballot.

For Team Anna, it would be a grand victory if Congress is defeated as they would feel emboldened to carry forward their campaign in the states where assembly elections are due early next year – Punjab and Uttarakhand four months away. Congress is hoping to gain on anti-incumbency in these two states but if Team Anna emerges victorious and Congress is defeated, pollsters could well start calculating the outcome afresh in these two poll bound states.

Even if Congress is defeated due to its inner contradictions coupled with factors like anti-incumbency of Hooda, sympathy for Bhajan Lal whose death necessitated the by-election, past electoral behaviour of the constituency, performance of UPA government and corruption, Team Anna would flash the “V” sign and perhaps try to become a fulcrum for political movement in the run-up to the 2014 elections.

HJC-BJP’s victory would mark a new chapter in regional alliance with which the BJP has been experimenting for a while. It had so far tied up with the two “Lals” of Haryana - Devi Lal (and his son Om Prakash Chautala) and Bansi Lal in the past. Now it has tied up with the third “Lal” of Haryana politics – Bhajan Lal’s son Bishnoi. Victory would ensure a long life for the alliance in Haryana and an enduring NDA in which HJC would become an important player in the North.

“Green” party INLD’s victory would spell trouble for Hooda as it would be emboldened to intensify its campaign in the state. In chaste Haryanvi, Chautala tells the voters, “yo aakhri jota aur maar dayo, pher thara raaj pakka” (Vote for us and your government will be formed).

Locals say that whoever wins, politics of the state would never be the same again. Some others stick their neck out and point that the outcome would set in motion the political churning for the 2014 general elections. (October 12, 2011)

http://dailypioneer.com/nation/12661-hisar-prepares-for-larger-than-life-bypoll.html

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Anna, Baba stack up odds against Cong

HISAR BYPOLLS

AMITABH SHUKLA / HISAR

The constituency headed for one of the most important bye-elections in recent years, is witnessing a campaign unheard of in a Parliamentary election. Team Anna and Team Baba (Ramdev) working for the same cause – defeat of Congress.

This is perhaps the only election where a group is campaigning to vote against the Congress, without specifying whom to vote. Team Anna members have intensified their campaign and held as many as six meetings in different parts of the sprawling constituency on Monday. They have only one agenda – Vote against the Congress and defeat it so badly that it repents its omission and commission on Jan Lokpal and corruption.

Baba Ramdev too has become a poll issue in the election with members of Baba’s Bharat Swabhiman too campaigning vigorously, albeit in a silent manner. Though members of “Team Baba” are not saying whom to vote or against whom to vote, the message is clear. They have mobilised all their supporters and they are reminding the people about the midnight crackdown at Ramlila Maidan, where Rajbala had dies and scores of people injured.

As both Rajbala, who died two months after the security forces forcibly evicted her and thousands of supporters and Baba Ramdev are both from Haryana, their appeal has found many takers. They are leaving nothing to chance and the issues of black money, corruption ad a strong Lok Pal Bill which they are raising are clearly against the Congress.

The saffron surge of Baba Ramdev is supplementing the efforts of Team Anna and they have succeeded in creating a strong anti-Congress wave which is sweeping the constituency where a triangular fight is on.

Team Anna decided to foil the impact of the political parties by holding a late night meeting at a venue, just opposite the Government college which has so far witnessed rallies by the HJC-BJP and the Congress so far and another is planned by INLD on Tuesday.

Amidst war cry of “Bharat Mata ki jai” and “Vande Mataram” Arvind Kejriwal reminded the people that Hisar was the “karmabhoomi” of Lala Lajpat Rai and he also hailed from the same area. “We have started the second phase of our campaign from this place…Defeat Congress so badly that it is forced to pass the Jan Lokpal Bill in the Winter Session of Parliament,” he said, amidst applause, flag waiving and war cry of the slogans again.

Using popular lingo, he said, “We used to go to the forest (for toilet)…You know, a roll of toilet paper costs Rs 22. For the Commonwealth Games, it was bought for Rs 3700…This is your money. This is our money. Will you allow the loot to continue?” he asked as the crowd of around 1500 people shouted back “No, No. Shame, Shame”.

He explained the Jan Lok Pal Bill to the people and described it as an instrument which will end such practices. Kejriwal said that they would continue to campaign in every Assembly election against the Congress if the Bill were not passed.

It is here that he brings Baba Ramdev, clearly a popular figure in this part of the country. “What was Baba’s fault? He was against black money but what did Congress do? They sent police and rained lathis on innocent people…Would you like this to happen again?” he asked, as the involved audience thundered back, “No”.

Just 500 metres away, Baba’s supporters had formed a chain at the roundabout of one of the most busy traffic junctions of Hisar, a few furlongs away from the Bus stand. They were not blocking traffic but merely passing on the pamphlets to the pedestrians, cycle peddler, drivers and anyone passing by. They appealed the people to vote 100 per cent and described the election as a ‘Mahasangram” (a big war). The “Team Baba” supporters wanted black money stashed abroad to be declared as national asset and wanted it to be brought back to the country. They demanded a case of murder to be registered against those who indulged in violence on satyagrahis leading to the death of Rajbala and a strong Lokpal amongst other demands.

The coming together of the two streams of anti Congress thought (Team Anna and Team Baba) is creating a strong undercurrent in which the HJC-BJP seems to be clear beneficiary. (11.10.2011)

http://dailypioneer.com/nation/12361-anna-baba-polarise-congress-voters.html

http://dailypioneer.com/state-editions/chandigarh/12402-anna-baba-stack-up-odds-against-cong.html

Cong on the hustings misses Rahul

HISAR BYPOLLS

AMITABH SHUKLA / HISAR

Voters here looked for AICC General Secretary Rahul Gandhi and thought he could land at the last moment to campaign for the beleaguered party in the crucial bye-election. He did not turn up. The scion of the Gandhi-Nehru family preferred to go to Gopalgarh in Rajasthan which was rocked by communal clashes instead of the high pitch bye-election which could prove to be a turning point for the Congress in the run-up to a series of Assembly elections next year and the Lok Sabha elections in 2014.

“Almost all top leaders from all parties have campaigned, except of the Congress. We thought Rahul could counter the barbs of Team Anna in a better way. But this was not to be,” said, Sunil, the manager of Hotel Om, just opposite the Government college, where three back to back rallies of all the contenders will conclude the campaign for the polls to be held on October 13. While the young manager of the hotel is supporting the HJC-BJP candidate Kuldeep Bishnoi, his boss and the owner has the photographs of Congress leaders at the reception, clearly suggesting his political preferences.

The voters here count only three top leaders in the Congress – Party President Sonia Gandhi, Rahul and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. None of them have campaigned for the party or are expected on Tuesday, the last day of campaigning.

“Rahul going to Rajasthan and not coming here indicates his political preferences. No one wants to be associated with a losing cause. Even Rahul realises this,” said a disgruntled Congress leader, who did not want to be quoted. The party workers here realise the importance of the bye-election, the first which would test Anna Hazare’s call to vote against the Congress. Some of them, however, felt that the party should have done more to neutralise the threat of Anna by roping in the three star campaigners and also Union Ministers.

Sipping a sweet, milky tea in INLD district office, an office-bearer said that we only have two star campaigners – party candidate Ajay Chautala and his father Om Prakash Chautala and both are camping in the constituency ever since the election campaign started. In fact the entire Chautala clan, including Ajay’s brother and MLA Abhey and son Digvijay, are camping here.

BJP had a galaxy of leaders to campaign for their alliance partner HJC. This included Party chief Nitin Gadkari, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, cricketer turned commentator turned party MP Navjot Singh Sidhu, Haryana BJP in-charge Harsh Vardhan, small screen actress Smriti Malhotra, cricketer Chetan Chauhan and a host of state leaders.

Congress campaign for party candidate Jai Prakash is being led by Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda who has been camping here for almost a fortnight now. AICC general secretary in-charge of the state B K Hariprasad remains the only senior leader to campaign. On Monday Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and film star turned MP Raj Babbar gave a helping hand to the Congress on the penultimate day of the campaign. Another AICC General Secretary Birender Singh only made a “guest appearance” and so did Union Minister Shelja, suggesting that it was only a half hearted effort on their part. If the Congress candidate wins, Hooda will walk away with the credit and this is what his detractors like Birender and Shelja do not want.

Team Anna is also in the fray, not to win the election but to ensure that the Congress candidate gets defeated by a huge margin. While Arvind Kejriwal is riding a mini truck with a raised platform to show Anna Hazare’s message on a 32-inch TV screen, supporters wearing red T-shirts with India Against Corruption written on them, distributing pamphlets and CDs of Anna and Kejriwal speech to the people. They urged voters to re-distribute the CDs and wear the badge which said, “the candidate who does not support Jan Lokpal would not get my vote”

Kejriwal has said that had Rahul Gandhi wanted, the Jan Lokpal Bill would have been passed without a hitch, given his clout in the Congress. Many attending his meetings and clearly none of them are Congress supporters, questioned the absence of the Amethi MP from the battleground Hisar.

“By campaigning and winning Hisar, Rahul could have shown his political mettle. An opportunity has been lost,” said a Team Anna supporter. He was perhaps not aware of the Bihar Assembly elections where an intensive campaign by Rahul saw the party returning with its poorest figure after 1947. (11.10.2011)

http://dailypioneer.com/nation/12359-cong-on-the-hustings-misses-rahul.html

http://dailypioneer.com/state-editions/chandigarh/12369-rahul-deserts-poll-bound-congress.html

Major parties confident of making poll history

AMITABH SHUKLA / HISAR

The strict directions of the Election Commission might have robbed the dusty city of the carnival-like atmosphere that precede elections but the campaign of the three contending parties has convinced the people that they will make history, whichever way they vote.

If the people of the constituency go with Anna Hazare's call to vote against the Congress, they have HJC-BJP candidate Kuldeep Bishnoi and INLD's Ajay Chautala to choose from. "I just want you to vote for the candidate who is clean and honest. I do not want to say anything else...You know Ajay Chautala was summoned by a CBI court in Delhi recently in a case of disproportionate assets. You also know, in how many cases Jai Prakash (Congress candidate) is facing," Bishnoi reminds voters in his election campaign in the constituency.

He insists that only the honest would survive this test.Terming it as a historic election, Bishnoi, son of former CM Bhajan Lal, says that this election would determine who forms the next Government in Haryana and the Centre.Congress candidate Jai Praksh is not that popular in the constituency but Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda definitely is. Hooda has made the election a prestige issue and is camping in Hisar and has so far visited almost every segment of the vast constituency. His cabinet colleagues are in toe for what is being seen as the first major political test for the Congress post Anna's fast at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi.

The CM is citing the achievements of his almost seven year old Government in the State claiming how different sections of society have benefited, a claim ridiculed by the HJC-BJP and also the INLD.As corruption is indeed a poll issue, Hooda said that he would leave politics if any instance of misdeed or corruption could be provided against him. "On the contrary, Opposition leaders have been charge sheeted and charges have been framed against them in different cases. Number of cases are pending against them in various courts of the country", he charged.

Ironically, it is the INLD candidate Ajay Chautala who is hard pressed for plausible issues in the elections. Chautala is reminding the voters what the Government did when it was in power seven years ago, something which the young voters do not even remember. INLD is also criticising Hooda for its alleged acts of omission and commission terming it anti-farmer.

INLD might not have issues to boast of, nevertheless, it is hoping for a lion's share of the 4.5 lakh strong Jat community votes, which forms the single largest chunk here. Party leaders claim that if they manage to get the community's votes, they would sail through.If the traditional methods of mobilisation are used and the caste card works out, the 2.4 lakh Dalit votes would play a crucial role as Congress has lost is clout in this section of people following the Mirchipur incident in which two Dalits lost their lives at the hands of the dominant Jat community. Mirchipur falls in this constituency and the message has not been lost. As BSP is not contesting here, the votes could go to Bishnoi, given the fact that HJC is not considered a Jat dominated party.Also the non-Dalit and non-Jat votes that form almost 40 per cent of the constituency's strength would be crucial. It is here that the contesting parties are using the local satraps and caste leaders to influence public opinion and get votes. (October 10, 2011)

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BJP stokes anti-UPA fire

Swaraj, Gadkari launch blistering attack on Cong

Amitabh Shukla / Hisar

With corruption becoming the only major poll plank in Hisar by-election, top echelons of the BJP joined the campaign on Sunday saying that the election had the potential to change not only the course of politics in Haryana but also at the national level.

“This is not a regular election. It is decisive in nature... This will decide the course of future politics in Haryana and the nation,” Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj told an impressive gathering. Swaraj, along with BJP president Nitin Gadkari and other party leaders, addressed a public meeting here in support of Kuldeep Bishnoi of Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC). The BJP has entered into a long-term alliance with the HJC and has even decided the number of seats each will fight in the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls.

Swaraj, who was feted as the ‘daughter’ and ‘sister’ of Haryana, said she was happy that Team Anna was present in the constituency “to ensure the victory of Kuldeep Bishnoi”.

Launching a blistering attack on the UPA Government, Swaraj said, “Inflation has led to its (UPA) unpopularity and corruption has made it lose all credibility.”Referring to the Centre’s role in the Commonwealth Games scams, the 2G auction controversy and dubious Navy deals and the Air India purchases, she said, “They are looting the country with both hands… They have looted the earth, ocean, sky and the airwaves. They are not even ashamed to say that a person earning more than Rs 26 in rural areas and more than Rs 32 in urban areas is rich. They do not want to know the truth. And those who show them the truth like Baba Ramdev face the lathi,” the Leader of Opposition said in a no-holds-barred attack on the Government.

Party chief Gadkari attacked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over the twin issues of inflation and corruption saying he knew about everything taking place in the Government.“If you cannot control inflation and corruption, leave the post… go to Haridwar or Rishikesh on a pilgrimage.You can even go to the Golden Temple and sing kirtan there,” he said. Pointing at Amritsar MP Navjot Sidhu, Gadkari said that he could arrange it if the PM wanted to go to Amritsar for kirtan.

“Can one person (Raja) be in a scam worth Rs 1.76 lakh crore? The PM and Chidambaram both knew. Why was he (PM) silent when Raja sent the file to him?” he said.Referring to Team Anna members Arvind Kejriwal and others campaigning against the Congress in the by-election here, Gadkari said the BJP was for a strong Lokpal. “We want to remove corruption… You have the opportunity to make history now,” he said.As Hazare’s call to vote against the Congress has become an issue, Bishnoi said his rivals — Jai Prakash of Congress and INLD’s Ajay Chautala — were actually campaigning for him as they are asking to vote for the cleanest candidate.“Chautala is fighting several cases of corruption. The Congress candidate faces several charges… Can anyone point out even one case against me involving corruption?” he said.

As the seat fell vacant due to the death of Bishnoi’s father Bhajan Lal, he also played the sympathy card, asking the people to remember what the former Haryana CM had done for the area. “I see the image of my father in you (public). I know you will not disappoint me,” he said.The size of the first rally after an alliance was forged between the BJP and HJC clearly indicated that the marriage of the two had been received well by the people of the State. While the colour yellow dominated the proceedings, saffron too made its presence felt with flags of the respective parties fluttering at the rally venue and also at many places in the constituency. (October 10, 2011)

http://dailypioneer.com/pioneer-news/todays-newspaper/12146-bjp-stokes-anti-upa-fire.html

The litmus test of Hisar: Battle of ballot will swing political fate

Never did a by-election generate so much interest and heat as Hisar has done. It is practically a political ‘do or die’ for the three main contenders in the fray — Congress, INLD and the Haryana Janhit Congress-BJP alliance with the larger than life image of anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare looming large on the polls. For Congress, in particular, the outcome has implications which go beyond Hisar and Haryana and has the potential to impact national politics.

No stone is being left unturned by either of the parties to score over each other. Now Team Anna has also jumped in the fray with an appeal by Anna Hazare to vote against the Congress, which remains the only major party in the fray here whose candidate has not given an undertaking to support the Jan Lokpal Bill.

As Anna’s videos are being played out in the cyber world and the constituency and his team members start a tour to take his message to Hisar to not vote for the Congress, the two beneficiaries are obviously INLD candidate Ajay Chautala and HJC-BJP combine candidate Kuldeep Bishnoi. If corruption indeed becomes an issue and Anna’s appeal is able to sway a sizeable section of the voters, Bishnoi could benefit given the fact that Chautala was recently chargesheeted in a CBI court on corruption charges.

Voting would be only on October 13 and the result five days later, but politicians of all hues from Chandigarh to Delhi via the agricultural belt of Haryana are talking as to what would happen in the event of the likely win of any of the three candidates. Also, what happens if Anna’s appeal goes in vain and Congress indeed emerges victorious? A win or defeat for the Congress would undoubtedly trigger a serious brainstorming in the grand old party. I am sure the Congress Core Group has discussed the issue threadbare and would do again the moment the results are declared.

If Congress candidate Jai Prakash wins, the party would emphatically claim that Anna is a mere paper tiger, does not have any influence on the voters and at best can be good at fasting not in influencing the voters in the countryside. It would raise the stock of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in party hierarchy and in the eyes of the high command. His detractors within the party would be sidelined and he will have a smooth tenure till the next Assembly elections.

Also, the Jan Lokpal Bill will be dispatched to the cold storage of the parliamentary committee for some more months, if not years. The committee could take its own sweet time which could span the entire tenure of the UPA Government till 2014, in the eventuality of the party emerging as a surprise winner.

Hooda has been camping in Hisar for the last several days, clearly indicating how important the by-election is for him and the party at the national level. An advertisement blitzkrieg has been launched in the electronic media by the Congress with a parody of “Mere desh ki dharti sona ugle…” of the popular Manoj Kumar film Upkar, dominating the sound waves. Patriotic songs and flag waving, the trademark of the Anna movement at Ramlila Maidan has clearly being hijacked by the grand old party in the video being played out to seek votes for the hand symbol. Though the three star campaigners of the party — Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and general secretary Rahul Gandhi are not expected to campaign, the amount of effort and energy the party is expending has never happened before for a mere by-election.

Despite these, if Congress loses, the party would try to hide its embarrassment by saying that in any case it was not holding the seat and minimise the long-term political damage by coming out with an anti-graft Bill to the Anna’s liking in the Winter Session of Parliament. This would help prevent him campaigning against Congress in Assembly elections of Punjab, Uttarakhand and then Uttar Pradesh in early 2012, states where Congress has a huge political stake. The party is hoping to form governments in Punjab and Uttarakhand and Anna’s campaign could adversely affect the chances. In Uttar Pradesh, Congress wants to substantially improve its tally to boost the political confidence of Rahul Gandhi before he is projected as the prime ministerial candidate in the 2014 General Elections.

So Congress is taking Hisar as a test balloon. I don’t think the party would take chances with the Jan Lokpal Bill if it gets defeated in Hisar. After all Rahul Gandhi’s test as an election-winning leader hinges on improved performance in UP. Also the regional satraps in Punjab, Uttarakhand and then Himachal Pradesh would lobby for a Jan Lokpal Bill if Congress gets defeated in Hisar as they would realise that even a 3-4 per cent vote against them on the issue of Jan Lokpal would well mean being consigned to the Opposition benches for another five years. Congress is in Opposition in all these contiguous states which go to polls in 2012.

In the event of Chautala emerging victorious, the alarm bells would start ringing in the Haryana Congress as INLD is the main Opposition in the State and Hooda’s remaining term would be spent battling the party. In fact, if it does not win the seat, Congress would like Chautala to get defeated as the INLD is the immediate threat to its supremacy in State politics as Hooda had failed to get a majority on his own and, it was only after he won over the MLAs of the HJC that he managed a workable majority to form government.

Moreover, in the Jat-centric politics, both Chautala and Hooda are vying to consolidate the votes of the dominant caste (a term used by sociologist MN Srinivas), and whoever wins has a long-term advantage.

So silently, Congress would be praying for a win. If it doesn’t, it would prefer Bishnoi in the Lok Sabha instead of Chautala. It knows how to deal with Bishnoi as he too comes from the same political thought and was in Congress all his life till his father Bhajan Lal broke away when he was denied Chief Ministership of the State in 2004. However, Bishnoi’s victory would cement his newly-formed alliance with the BJP and a third pole in the bipolar politics of the State would emerge. (October 9, 2011)

(The writer is Senior Editor, The Pioneer, Chandigarh)

http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/chandigarh/11813-the-litmus-test-of-hisar-battle-of-ballot-will-swing-political-fate.html

Hisar bypoll outcome to give clearer picture of Anna clout

Amitabh Shukla / Chandigarh

Hisar Lok Sabha bye-election would be the first election in the country which would be fought in the shadows of anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare. The outcome of the polls clearly has the potential to force the contesting political parties redraw their strategy, particularly the Congress whose opposition to Hazare and his Jan Lokpal Bill is no secret.

Hazare has said that he will visit Hisar or send a message to the voters to vote against the party if Congress does not come out with its stand on the Jan Lokpal Bill and does not declare that the Bill will be passed in the Winter Session of Parliament. The deadline which Anna has given to the Congress is Dussehra which falls on Thursday, seven days ahead of polling. According to the anti-graft crusader, Hisar is the first step of his campaign and it will continue for the Assembly elections of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, early next year.

If the Congress wins despite Hazare’s clarion call to the voters to vote for the non-Congress candidates, the fate of Jan Lokpal Bill could well be imagined. The ruling party would be emboldened to think that the crowd which Hazare got at Ramlila Maidan was only a fluke, a flash in the pan and does not translate into votes. However, a Congress defeat would trigger a serious thinking in the grand old party on how to deal with the ability of Hazare to sway public opinion and translate it into votes against the party.

In fact, even if the shadow of Hazare were not there on the polls, it was not a cakewalk for the Congress. The party is fighting anti-incumbency in the state, battling corruption charges at the national level, witnessing bickering amongst its ministers and stood third in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, behind Bhajan Lal and the Indian National Lok Dal. Now, when Hazare is indeed a factor, the reaction of the Congress has been rather strange.

Congress candidate Jai Prakash, who has won from the seat thrice and lost an equal number of times, says that the Anna factor would not have any impact in the elections. He goes on to say that Anna’s movement against corruption would indeed help him as his opponents are corrupt. AICC General Secretary in-charge of the state B K Hariprasad has only negative platitude for Team Anna and has been voicing them in no uncertain terms from the very beginning.

Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has been camping in Hisar for several days now, clearly indicating how seriously he takes the elections. His son and Rohtak MP Deepinder Hooda is on the campaign trail and so are his colleagues in the Haryana Cabinet and loyalists of the CM in the party. Even those who are opposed to Hooda in state politics like Birender Singh and Kiran Chaudhary made their presence felt in the constituency as the party high command could consider it otherwise in a high decibel election.

It could be a mere bye-election which might not affect the ruling party at the Centre, except adding another seat to its kitty, but the kind of attention and priority it has got in Haryana suggests that it is indeed a matter of “political do or die” for the ruling party.

The local channels are flooded with advertisement on why the people of Hisar should vote for the Congress and what has the Hooda government done for the people of the state in the last almost seven years as compared to the previous regime of Om Prakash Chautala. Government is on overdrive, ministers are camping in Hisar, instead of their offices in Chandigarh. Congress is using all its guile to win the polls as it understands its importance and implication at the national stage. (6. 10.2011)

http://dailypioneer.com/nation/11415-hisar-bypoll-outcome-to-give-clearer-picture-of-anna-clout.html

Differences would be sorted out, say SAD, BJP leaders

Amitabh Shukla / Chandigarh

The Akali Dal may be one of the oldest constituents of the National Democratic Alliance along with the Shiv Sena, but with Assembly elections approaching, the posturing of the party has made a section of the BJP take stock of the situation in the run-up to the assembly polls.

Though it could be a friendly banter between the two parties, a mere positioning ahead of the seat sharing talks, the lines have definitely been stretched in two incidents in the last few days.

SAD patron and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal appeared on a public platform with Om Prakash Chautala in Hisar to seek votes for Ajay Chautala, the INLD candidate from the seat. On this seat, Badal’s ally BJP is in a long-term alliance with the Haryana Janhit Congress and not with Chautala’s INLD.

On the proposal of SAD to bring a resolution in the state assembly for mercy to Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar, the BJP declared that it did not favour a lenient view to the Khalistani terrorist on a death row. The party has distanced itself from SAD, forcing the ruling party to seek support from its arch-rival Congress for the resolution. Not surprisingly, Congress has rejected it too though it is also in favour of clemency. Badal then had to hurriedly announce that a resolution may not be brought in the last Assembly session of the House beginning Monday.

Political sources say that the posturing of both the parties could be to get the lion’s share in the yet to begin seat sharing talks between the two parties. Delimitation of the assembly segments since the last polls in 2007, has left several gray areas which needs to be sorted out. There are claims and counter claims by both the allies on some seats as delimitation has changed the profile of a large number of constituencies.

In the last assembly polls, the Akalis had contested on 93 seats while BJP contested only on 23 seats. The strike rate of the BJP was stupendous as it won 19 out of those seats while the SAD managed only 49 seats out of 93.

On the decision of Badal to campaign for INLD, Akali leaders say that the Punjab Chief Minister has been a long standing friend of Chaudhary Devi Lal and then his son Om Prakash Chautala and he has always gone there to support the parties headed by them whenever asked for. Moreover, Akalis say that the help of Chautala was crucial for wiping out the challenge of some Haryana Sikh leaders in the recent SGPC elections who wanted a separate Sikh body to run the gurudwaras and religious institutions of the state and were backed by Congress.

The result in the Haryana in favour of SAD has practically ended the challenge of this faction which wanted separate SGPC for the state on the lines of Delhi, something which the SAD has been opposing from the very beginning. The Akali leadership is indebted to the help extended by the Chautalas, a senior party functionary said.

The Akalis also do not see much in the stand of BJP on the issue of Bhullar saying that the views of its ally is well-known and this has no bearing on the alliance whatsoever.

But the thaws in seat sharing remain. BJP leaders say that there was no question of accepting lesser number of sets as compared to the 2007 elections and at most what will happen is that some swapping of seats could take place as delimitation has changed some constituencies. Some new constituencies have been carved out while some have ceased to exist. It is understood that the two parties would swap at least three seats among themselves if not more so that the number of seats each party fought last time remains the same.

Fighting anti-incumbency and a political tradition where every five years, the government changes, SAD and BJP leaders say that minor differences does not mean that the larger goal is lost from the view. “The target is now only the assembly polls. We are focussed,” summed up a BJP leader. (October 3, 2011)

http://dailypioneer.com/state-editions/chandigarh/10630-differences-will-be-sorted-out-say-sad-bjp-leaders.html

BIJLI, SADAK, PANI; No more poll issue in Punjab, Haryana

The beginning of the new century 11 years ago saw Bijli, Sadak and Pani (BSP) emerging as the only poll agenda for the political parties and people in the country. Elections after election were fought on the issue. Those who delivered on the three fronts won; others lost. Punjab and Haryana were no exception to the new rule.

But a subtle difference has now emerged in the second decade of the century as BSP, considered the most basic aspect of development, is more or less abundant in both Haryana and Punjab as they are prosperous in terms of per capita income, agricultural prowess, inflow of NRI money and infrastructure compared to other states of the country. It has ceased to be a poll issue, at least in these two states.

So what counts for the electorate now when they have sufficient power, road and water (BSP) and the basic aspects of development hardly matter to them, the way it would have mattered say in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal or Madhya Pradesh. I am bringing the issue on the table as Punjab stares at the Assembly elections, to be held in another four months and neighbouring Haryana has a Lok Sabha bye-election which has the potential to make or break the political fortunes of the three contenders for the seat.

In Punjab, Bijli or power is heavily subsidised for those in the rural areas and the farmers. In Haryana too, the government has done what it can on the power front. Nothing more can be done on this front unless both the states decide that they want to commit hara-kiri and go bankrupt willingly with the firm belief that you can always have a free launch, come what may. So there are no promises of a free power or subsidised power anymore. Nothing can be done on this front as everything has already been done. Obviously you can promise 24x7 power, no one is even asking for that and none of the parties are promising it.

Now let us come to Sadak or roads in the two states. Whoever has been in power in the two states since their reorganization in 1966, roads have been a priority so much so that almost all the villages and wherever a few people live, has been connected with motorable roads now. Nothing much can be done here except perhaps widening of the roads for which land acquisition is a must and none of the farmers are going to willingly let you acquire even a yard without making loud noises. So roads as an electoral issue have also, for all practical purposes, been ruled out.

The third factor is Pani or water. Both the states fight each other like warring cousins for water and that has been happening ever since Haryana was carved out of Punjab. Issues like sharing of water from the Bhakra Dam, the Sutlej-Yamuna link canal etc has been raked up time and again. Now the Hansi-Butana canal issue and the construction of a wall by Haryana is being raked up by the rival political parties on either side of the divide. But the question is, are there any takers for the issue? It is only the parties which have been raising the question; the voters do not know how it will benefit them or deprive them.

Prosperity has ensured that the farmers in both these states use the latest boring machines and get as much water as they want without depending on the government to bring canal water to their fields. If the level of water goes down, scientific awareness about crops have ensured that they do not sow the water intensive crops like paddy and shift to some profitable cash crop. Or for that matter, they increase their investment in machines and drill further if they still want to continue with the traditional crops.

The point is that BSP is no longer an issue in Punjab and also Haryana. The two states have grown beyond these basic elements of development. They want more than merely power, road and water. Their aspiration has grown manifold.

So what are the parties contesting the polls offering them in the changed milieu? A cursory look at the poll campaign for the Hisar Lok Sabha seat and the build up to the Punjab assembly polls suggests that nothing much is being offered to the voters fatigued by the traditional BSP (Bijli, Sadak and Pani).

In Haryana, the ruling Congress is comparing the seven years of its rule with what INLD’s Om Prakash Chautala did before 2004. How many schools and engineering colleges it opened, how many SCs got benefit, how many widows and handicapped got pensions in its regime than that of Chautala. Even routine administrative decisions are being touted as “great” achievements. I am sure a lot of younger voters do not even know what happened when Chautala was in power.

And let us see what Chautala is offering. Nothing at all. It is only criticising what Congress and Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has not done, something which cannot be quantified. There is no vision and no plan, nothing to offer to the youth. The third contender for the seat, Kuldeep Bishnoi of the Congress too has nothing except the “emotional quotient” as the seat fell vacant following the death of his father, Bhajan Lal.

In Punjab, it is on more or less the same pattern. The SAD-BJP government went on an announcement spree from around March this year, thinking that people have short memory and they would remember the largesse if given at the last moment. The first four years of the government went without any major achievement to boast of. But now, the Punjab government has turned out to be a Santa Clause for everyone – government servants, police force, revenue officials, school girls, cancer patients…everyone. Most of these are only financial inducement, clearly meant to sway public opinion and the voters at a time when a fiscal crisis is staring the state.

Congress too has failed to offer anything so far in the run-up to the campaign, except criticising what the SAD-BJP has done. Anything the government does – good or bad – Congress is first to jump at a conclusion and condemn the move. Without offering any alternative, it thinks that being critical of the government and the natural anti-incumbency would catapult it to the throne. And in the bipolar politics of Punjab, it has to be either the SAD-BJP or the Congress. There is no other choice.

So even as the millennium has changed, the profile of voters is changing drastically every five years and getting younger all the while, technology has changed beyond recognition in the five years gone by, the leaders remain the same and the promises and action plan too remains the same. The fatigued voters definitely deserve better – a long-term vision beyond the obvious which comprises a holistic employment policy, land acquisition, health sector reforms, education to name a few. The debate needs to be raised at a higher pedestal. (October 2, 2011)

(The writer is Senior Editor, The Pioneer, Chandigarh)

http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/chandigarh/10479-bijli-sadak-pani.html