Faridabad and Gurgaon — the two districts of Haryana adjoining national Capital — appear to be tilting towards Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as voters gear up to exercise their franchise on October 15. After an emphatic poll victory in the 2014 lok Sabha elections, the BJP is expected to experience a similar feat in both the district in the Haryana Assembly elections.
The Modi wave has apparently swept the rural and urban populace of two key districts as the Congress and the Indian National lok Dal (INlD) find themselves on a sticky wicket.
Nearly 17,32,922 voters are going to exercise their franchise in the six Assembly segments of Faridabad. The constituencies include Prithla, Faridabad NIT, Badhkal, Ballabgarh, Faridabad and Tigaon.
Similarly in Gurgaon, there are 2,96,371 voters of which 1,55,148 are men and 1,41,223 women voters. While Badhshahpur and Gurgaon are witnessing Modi-wave, there is a triangular contest in Sohna and Pataudi seats. Mood of the voters is for a change and this may lead to BJP reaping the poll harvest, local political watchers say.
Rao Inderjit Singh, the local MP and a Minister in the Union Cabinet, commands sizeable loyalty in this belt and his influence runs in the neighbouring Rewari and Mahendragarh districts represented by his late father Rao Birendra Singh, who served as Chief Minister of Haryana and as Cabinet Minister in the Mrs Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Chandra Shekhar Governments.
Faridabad is witnessing one-sided contest if the mood of the voters is a barometer. Krishan Pal Gujjar, the local MP and a Minister in the Union Cabinet, is also a factor. His OBC vote bank and the urban voters appear in the mood to vote for the BJP in this Assembly polls too. “Around 6,000 votes of our area will go to the BJP. We have full faith in the BJP Government. Modi will definitely do something good for us. We clearly see Vipin Goyal as our leader,” said Om Pal, a resident of Prem Nagar in Sector 17 Faridabad.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a massive rally in Dussehra ground in Faridabad, where he promised the people better education, jobs and infrastructure for Faridabad if the BJP won the elections. He also said that he won’t be able to ‘help’ Haryana in case any other party forms the Government.
BJP workers also exuded confidence that they would win. “The BJP will form the Government in Haryana on October 19. There is an anti-incumbency wave, nobody wants Congress rule anymore in Faridabad and Gurgaon,” said Parvesh Sharma, media spokesperson of Haryana BJP. “People are fed up with the Hooda Government as they have neglected Faridabad and the problems of the city have not been addressed too,” said Subhash Chand, party supporter.
Poor sanitation and lack of support from the civic agencies had made life difficult for the residents.
Take the case of Faridabad’s Ismailpur, an urban village. From water scarcity to congested roads, residents are reeling under terrible living conditions. “The previous Governments came, made tall promises and did nothing. We are hopeful that the BJP will pay heed to our needs,” said Guddu, a resident of Ismailpur. For women voters, private toilets in rural areas remains the prime demand this election.
“We don’t have the provision of private toilet. We are forced to defecate in the open. It is very unsafe for women and we feel terrified to go out in the wee hours,” said Munni, a local of Prem Nagar.
Trends visible in Faridabad are quite perceptible in the adjoining Gurgaon district “Narendra Modi is the face of the BJP. He was precisely the reason why the BJP won the lok Sabha elections. I have been living here in Jharsa for 35 years and have always voted for the Congress but this time I am indecisive. Modi has done a great work at the Centre,” said Ashok Kumar Jain. In Haryana, while it is a triangular contest between the Congress, the INlD and the BJP, in villages like Jharsa and Sukhrali, Modi-tide has hit other parties hard, Kumar added.
Notwithstanding the claims of Modi-wave in Gurgaon, INlD vice-president Anant Ram Tanwar said, “Our party will make the Government in Haryana Assembly elections. We are hundred per cent sure. The reason behind it is that the people want to get rid of corrupt Congress.”
Gurgaon district for many is an extension of Delhi as majority of people who work in Delhi reside there. With new townships coming up in Sohna, Badshapur and the sleepy town of Pataudi, the city has extended to these rural areas. On one side of National Highway-8, there are the posh townships, offices of over 500 companies and numerous malls. On the other side, however, not much has changed over the years. The area is devoid of malls, international schools, private universities and glitzy buildings.
“The old villages of Gurgaon are in urgent need for attention. We are exposed to the torture of three-day long power crises. Sometimes we have to travel a mile to fetch water; our kids go and fetch water. What if they get killed while crossing the roadIJ We need a hand pump here at least,” said Ashok.