The campaigning for Lok Sabha battle in Haryana ended on a high note on Friday with the political heavyweights from ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and its main rival Congress travelling the length and breadth of the state to give one final push to woo the voters.
The ten parliamentary seats in Haryana will go to voting on May 12, the sixth phase of polling.
As a fitting end to BJP’s aggressive campaign, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday held “Vijay Sankalp rally” in Jat-dominated Rohtak, known as political capital of Haryana while the party chief Amit Shah held rallies in Barwala and Charkhi Dadri. The Chief Minister Manohar Lal addressed a rally in Sirsa (reserved constituency).
In Gohana (Sonipat), former Chief Minister and Congress candidate from Sonipat Lok Sabha seat, Bhupinder Singh Hooda alongwith his son, three-time MP and Congress candidate from Rohtak, Deepender Singh Hooda held “Samajik Bhaichara rally” to muster support in the Jat belt.
Jannayak Janta Party leader and outgoing Hisar MP Dushyant Chautala, who is seeking re-election on JJP’s ticket, led the campaign of his fledgling political outfit and its alliance partner Aam Aadmi Party to seek vote for himself and his brother Digvijay Chautala, JJP-AAP joint candidate from Sonipat, at a rally held in Jind.
Indian National Lok Dal secretary general Abhay Chautala held “Vijay Bhav Rally” in Kurukshetra in support of his son Arjun Chautala, who is party’s candidate from Kurukshetra Lok Sabha seat.
The last day of canvassing in Haryana saw no-holds-barred attacks and counter-attacks by the political bigwigs.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi evoked the 1984 anti-Sikh riots at Rohtak’s rally to target the Congress party in the backdrop of party leader Sam Pitroda’s remarks over the riots while the BJP chief Amit chief attacked influential political families of Hoodas and Chautalas for alleged misrule in Haryana.
Targeting former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Shah at his rallies in Hisar and Charkhi Dadri described him as the biggest player of land scams. Haryana got riddance from the corruption of Hooda and goondaism of Chautalas which were at its peak during the respective regimes, he said.
Continuing his attack against Congress, Amit Shah said that the Congress is not working in the interest of the country but the main opposition party is working to protect the interest of neighboring Pakistan. The Congress by supporting anti-national elements is strengthening the “Tukde Tukde Gang” which is out to weaken the country. But the people of the country will not allow the Congress to succeed in its nefarious designs, the BJP chief added.
a dig at the former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he said that during the UPA regime the Jawans were ill-treated and faced barbaric acts, their heads were also taken away but the Mauni Baba kept silent. The Congress is responsible for the increase in terrorism, Shah alleged.
Reacting to the allegations of BJP top leaders, former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda at his rally in Gohana said, “The BJP has done nothing during its five years tenure. They have no achievement to tell… They just divided the people of this country as well as the state.”
Referring to Jat quota agitation 2016, Hooda said that Haryana was burnt under BJP’s regime to divide the people of the state on caste lines. But the BJP will never succeed in its nefarious designs and people will give them a befitting reply in the elections, he said.
His son Deependra Singh Hooda also accused the BJP of dividing the society on religious and caste lines. The ruling BJP is trying to divert the mind of people as it has done nothing during its five years rule, he added. Hitting out at both BJP and Congress, JJP leader Dushyant Chautala said that the two political parties are two sides of same coin. In Haryana, Congress has always tried to help the BJP, he alleged.
Attacking Prime Minister Modi, Dushyant said that the PM at his election rallies at Fatehabad and Kurukshetra earlier spoke about JJP, which shows he is scared of a new political party. Former CM Hooda is also feeling nervous as he is facing a tough fight in Sonipat against Digvijay Chautala, Dushyant said.
The JJP leader added that the JJP-AAP alliance has given a good alternative to the people of this state, who will vote out the corrupt and dishonest political parties in the Lok Sabha elections.
Notably, PM Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah had earlier held two rallies each in the state. Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and party’s general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have also held five rallies in the state. Priyanka had also held a roadshow in Rohtak earlier this week.
BSP supremo Mayawati, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Sushma Swaraj, Uma Bharti, Uttar Pradesh CM Adityanath, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, Punjab Cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, Actor and MP Hema Malini are among other prominent leaders who have held elections rallies over the past fortnight in the state.