The high decibel, high voltage campaign in Jind came to an end on Saturday even as the animated discussions over hookahs at halkas and urban areas about the likely winner continue to dominate the social and political space in the Jat-dominated seat in Haryana that goes to bypoll on Monday.
“Whoever corners 45,000 votes, will be the winner” is the common refrain in the constituency that has about 1.70-lakh electorate, including Punjabis, Baniya and Sainis in considerable numbers. Jind is witnessing a stiff triangular fight between the BJP, Congress and the JJP, the new outfit from the Chautala stable and is also being seen as a referendum on the Manohar Lal Khattar dispensation just ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
The constituency, which fell vacant after the demise of BJP MLA Dr HC Middha, has now become a matter of prestige for all political parties in Haryana, especially since the perception is that the State may go to polls for both the Assembly and Lok Sabha together.
It is also said the clout of Union Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh, who switched from Congress to BJP, will also be gauged by the Central BJP leadership.
“He (Khattar) promised a Atal Park in Jind Sector 10 for which he had announced the work will begin within 24 hours of his taking charge as CM. Today the area is still a barren land and a haven for sharabis,” said Shekhar Khatkar, a resident expressing his annoyance, along with his other companions basking in the sun in the same park on Saturday morning. The middle-aged person claimed the colony had voted for BJP last time. This time, they are not so sure.
The contest gained attraction and became a high sweepstakes one with the entry of Congress’ chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala.
The dilapidated roads of Jind have since seem a flurry of activities and high-profile visits by the likes of Union Ministers Vijay Goel, former Haryana CM BS Hooda, former Union Minister Kumari Selja to campaign for their respective candidates even as it has drawn the attention of the national media. Asked if his entry made the contest a high-profile one, Surjewala said, “This one seat is relevant to swing the mood of country, especially northern India after ruling BJP’s debacle in three States recently”. The Congress media incharge has been sweating it out day and night in the cold climes of Jind for over a fortnight now to live up to the expectations shouldered on him ‘unexpectedly’ by Congress President Rahul Gandhi at the dead end of the last day of poll nominations.
Surjewala is in the cross line of two strong candidates - BJP’s Dr Krishna Middha, son of late HC Middha and Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) candidate Digvijay Chautala, son of Ajay Chautala and grandson of former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala. Digvijay is the brother of sitting MP from Hisar Dushyant Chautala, who has been extensively campaigning to establish JJP as the breakaway faction of INLD.
INLD’s Umed Singh is another contestant of the original version of INLD retained by senior Chautala’s another son Abhay Chautala and is likely to end up as “vote-katwa” of the total of 45000 Jat votes that will certainly oscillate in equal terms between Digvijay and Randeep on voting day.
JJP has received support from Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which has taken a door-to-door campaign prompting the Congress to pinpoint the credibility of Kejriwal for joining hands with the “corrupt Chautalas”. As JJP did not get the party symbol approved by the Election Commission, Digvijay is in the fray on a “cup-plate” symbol giving a run for their money to the Congress and BJP. “Hamara to cup-plate hai,” says the elderly of many halka (villages). But youth and women are a divided lot. The Khap Panchayats of Kandela have, nevertheless, extended their support to Rs cup-plate’ which paves the way for an interesting finish in the event of division of Jat votes. In that case Dr Krsihna Midda of BJP, a Punjabi, is banking on anti-Jat consolidation and banks on the popularity of his late father. “In the beginning of the campaign, many believed he would sail through. But the entry of Surjewala and the announcement by local Jat strongman and an independent MLA Jai Prakash to support Surjewala ,which roughly calculates 10,000 votes, has queered the pitch for the BJP,” locals pointed out. The Congress believes it would get substantial number of votes from Scheduled Castes and backward classes as Haryana Congress chief Ashok Tanwar is campaigning for Surjewala. Congress also hopes that rebel BJP MP, Raj Kumar Saini, who has fielded a Brahmin candidate, would divide both Brahmin and Saini votes in favour of Surjewala. If the JJP is the “favorite” in the rural areas, the BJP aims to get a “fair deal” from urban areas. And the Congress believes it will have the support from across the castes in Jind and later on in Haryana.
During nukkad campaigns Surjewala supporters have projected Jind born “padha-likha Surjewala” as future chief ministerial candidate and someone who would be instrumental in changing the destiny of Jind. In the Congress, though, it is said Surjewala could be a candidate from either Sonepat or Kurkshetra Lok Sabha seat during the upcoming general elections.