Even when the chips are down and Congress is finding it difficult to defend land scams in the State, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Tuesday claimed that there was a “pro incumbency” wave in the State.
Battling two-term anti-incumbency, Hooda, who not only faces the challenge of retaining his own seat from Garhi-Sampla-Kiloi constituency but also take his embattled party to victory, expressed confidence in his party’s good performance at the hustings.
“People are satisfied with the performance of the Government, that is why I can say with confidence that the Congress is going to form the Government for the third time. “There is no anti-incumbency rather there is pro-incumbency. People vote on development, they are wise and understand quite well who can further accelerate this pace of development,” Hooda said.
Asked about the challenges he feels Congress is going to face in these elections, he said, “for every party every election is a challenge. But we are confident that people will once again repose their faith in our party”.
Main opposition INlD, which has again fielded Satish Nandal in the constituency being represented by Hooda since 2005, sought to puncture the claim made by the Haryana Government. Nandal said that the Congress is on its way out and Hooda won’t be able to “save the sinking ship”.
“People will bring back Chaudhary Om Prakash Chautala. Both Congress and BJP put together will not get more than 25 seats across the state while INlD will win over 60 seats. Even in Kiloi, INlD is getting good support and we are confident of our victory,” Nandal claimed. In all, 15 candidates from the assembly segment are in the fray including Haryana Janhit Congress, Haryana lokhit Party, the BSP, besides eight Independents.