Chandigarh: With the Assembly polls in Haryana to follow the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, all three main political parties in the state are in a poll mode. Former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda of the Congress is holding a series of public meetings through his “Jan Kranti Yatra” cornering the BJP government on various issues. Not to be left behind, the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) has started a “jail bharo” agitation demanding immediate completion of Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) canal.
To counter the onslaught by the Opposition parties, chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar of the BJP has started road shows and contact programmes with farmers.
Mr Hooda, who remains the most powerful Congress leader in the state, launched the “Jan Kranti Yatra” from Panipat early this month. He plans to cover various areas of the state in the days to come, raising issues pertaining to farmers, the poor, labourers and the youth.
Mr Hooda is targeting both the BJP government as well as the INLD leadership. Responding to the INLD-BSP pre-poll pact, he said, “The pact will break before the polls like it did in 1998. What can one say about the INLD that has been entering into the pacts with BJP, BSP and SAD, one after another.”
He has been scathing in his attacks on the BJP, questioning the performance of the party's governments, both in the state as well as the Centre, on issues of job generation, addressing concerns of farmers, repeated failures on the law and order front and reliance on caste and communal polarisation.
“It seems that the people have already made up their mind to rid themselves of this government,” said Mr Hooda, pointing to Mr Khattar.
The INLD started the jail bharo agitation last month and attacked the government on the emotive issue of SYL. INLD leader Abhay Chautala said that the Centre had been directed by the Supreme Court to complete the construction of the canal.
“But the government has been sitting over the directive for the past 18 months even after the disposal of the dispute,” he said while accusing the Centre and the state government of conspiring against the interests of Haryana.
To counter this onslaught, Mr Khattar started road shows in major towns and cities apart from having a dialogue with the farmers. Farmer issues will form the core of the political narrative in the state for both the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls.
The chief minister has already started showering sops. He recently announced that from July 1 and one lakh BPL cards will be distributed.
During a public meeting in Kaithal, Mr Khattar said it is his responsibility as a chief minister to have a dialogue with the people and that is why he started “Mukhyamantri Se Seedhi Baat” programme, on the lines of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Mann ki Baat”.
