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Sushil Manav
Tribune News Service
Bohar (Rohtak), October 16
As the cavalcade stops near a ‘chaupal’ (community centre) in Bohar village located on the outskirts of Rohtak town, villagers rush towards an SUV moving next to the escort vehicle.
Slogans of “Chaudhry Bhupinder Singh Hooda zindabad” rent the air as the former Chief Minister seated on the rear seat greets villagers with folded hands. His personal security officer (PSO) Satish Rathee opens the SUV door with a great difficulty as villagers vie with each other to greet or shake hands with Hooda.
“CM ajayega Hooda, bigdee bana jayega Hooda…. (Hooda will come as CM and will redress all your grievances.)”, a song written and sung by Kaithal-based singer Dilbag Mor is being played on a vehicle fitted with a public address system accompanying the cavalcade.
Bohar is part of the Garhi Sampla-Kiloi Assembly seat where Hooda is facing Satish Nandal of the BJP among others. The village happens to be Nandal’s native village and BJP flags can be seen atop several shops here.
In Hooda’s bastion, his followers believe that their leader is coming back to power after the October 21 poll. To them, it does not matter that Hooda’s party, the Congress, lost all 10 seats in the Lok Sabha poll held in May this year and even their leader and his son Deepender Hooda lost from their bastion Sonepat and Rohtak, respectively.
“I can bet he is coming back as CM again after October 24,” says Pooran Singh (80) from Khadwali village outside the community centre where Hooda is addressing a meeting. He says he has come here specially to listen to Hooda’s speech.
“They (BJP) defeated Deepender by misuse of power in May. But this time we are all alert and won’t allow any mischief,” he claims.
Sandeep, a youth from Bohar village, says people were longing for the return of Hooda regime, as Rohtak witnessed a lot of development when he was in power. “A wind of change has started blowing. The BJP will be out of power after October 24 and your own government will come to power,” Hooda tells people on the microphone from the dais.
He reminds them of the development Rohtak witnessed from 2005 to 2014 when he was in power. “Haryana was number one state of the country in per capita investment, sports and several other fields, but ever since the BJP has come to power, the state has gone down in every aspect,” says Hooda.
He repeats the announcements made by the Congress in its poll manifesto and tells villagers that the loans of farmers would be waived within 24 hours of coming to power.
With supporters raising slogans, Hooda leaves for the makeshift helipad made in an engineering college on the outskirts of Rohtak.
A Congress supporter tells that Hooda was in Jassia and Kiloi today and everywhere there was a huge response from the supporters.
“I have been to Ambala, Yamunanagar, Panipat, Nuh, Gurugram, Fatehabad, Sirsa and several other districts. I have observed a wind of change everywhere. The BJP government is on its way out and the Congress is coming back to power,” Hooda claims.
On BJP’s claims of “75 plus” seats, Hooda mocks the government saying that during the Manohar Lal Khattar regime tomatoes, diesel, onions and many other commodities are Rs 75 plus.
Asked to react on Ashok Tanwar’s support to the JJP, Hooda says that the former state Congress president has already quit the party, so it does not make any difference.
Strong hold on Garhi Sampla-Kiloi