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Sushil Manav
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, May 11
In Haryana, which goes to the polls on Sunday, Opposition candidates seem to be pitted against PM Narendra Modi rather than BJP candidates. So strong is the Modi factor that voters say they will be going to the booths to vote for the PM and the party candidate does not count.
Modi, during his rallies in Haryana, rarely sought votes in the name of his candidates, the repeated slogan being “Phir ek bar, Modi Sarkar.”
Even BJP star campaigners, including BJP chief Amit Shah and CM Manohar Lal Khattar, sought votes in the PM’s name, inviting criticism from the Opposition, which claimed the BJP had nothing to show, hence was using Modi’s name.
BJP leaders, of course, shrug off the charge. “When we have a leader like Modi whom the people trust completely, why should we not seek votes in his name? The Congress has a leader who does not have the trust of his own party men. They didn’t even want him to campaign,” says the CM.
In Sonepat and Rohtak, there is another factor at play — Bhupinder Singh Hooda. The former CM is contesting from Sonepat and son Deepender Hooda from Rohtak. The voters here will vote either for Hooda or against him. Hooda, who was CM during 2005-2014, changed the landscape of the area.
Immensely popular in the area, sharp polarisation after the 2016 quota violence could damage Hooda’s chances. The voting pattern will be interesting to watch.