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When moms took the field for their sons

The Lok Sabha elections in Hisar were unique in one sense. Among the star campaigners for the three main candidates were their mothers.

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Deepender Deswal

The Lok Sabha elections in Hisar were unique in one sense. Among the star campaigners for the three main candidates were their mothers. The moms, who had taken the larger responsibility of campaigning for their sons, measured the length and breadth of the prestigious Hisar Lok Sabha constituency.

Coincidentally, the three mothers — Naina Chautala, mother of sitting MP and JJP candidate Dushyant Chautala; Prem Lata, mother of BJP candidate Brijendra Singh; and Renuka Bishnoi, mother of Congress nominee Bhavya Bishnoi, — are also first-time MLAs.  Naina is the MLA from Dabwali, Prem Lata represents the Uchana Kalan seat while Renuka is the Hansi MLA.

Now, when the polling is over these star campaigner mothers are keenly waiting for the results to be declared on May 23. “Prem Lata ji is sure of Brijendra's victory. We have made our calculation and it’s quite comforting. Prem Lata ji, her family and supporters are anxiously awaiting the results,” says Amit Kajal, an associate of Brijendra’s family. Prem Lata is residing at her Delhi residence and will return on May 22. 

For Dabwali MLA Naina Chautala, mother of Dushyant Chautala, it’s back to business as usual. She is taking care of her family, which has re-grouped at their native place in Sirsa after weeks of hectic electioneering. While Dushyant fought the elections from Hisar, his younger brother Digvijay Singh was the Jannayak Janta Party candidate from Sonepat against Congress candidate Bhupinder Hooda and sitting BJP MP Ramesh Kaushik. Naina had a hectic campaigning schedule, as she campaigned for both her sons. Dharam Pal, spokesperson for Dushyant, says that they are sure of the victory of Dushyant and Digvijay and are relaxing at their residence in Sirsa. In the absence of her husband Ajay Chautala, who is in jail, Naina played the key role of grooming her two sons to chart their own political paths after they parted ways with the INLD last year.

Renuka Bishnoi, mother of Congress candidate Bhavya Bishnoi, too, is having a relaxed time after continuous campaigning for his son. She had taken the field much before the Congress announced the ticket for Bhavya and toured village to village while her husband and Adampur MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi joined them at a later stage. They intensified their efforts in the last leg of campaigning. These are undeniably Renuka Bishnoi's elections, as she covered most of the constituency during campaigning. She is an eloquent speaker. However, the Bishnoi family has taken a break after the polling on May 12 and is staying together. 

Campaign styles  

A closer look at their campaign styles reveals that they had dedicated teams comprising women which accompanied them every morning and continued canvassing till late night. 

Uchana Kalan MLA got informal in speeches 

Prem Lata mostly focused on her constituency Uchana Kalan in Jind district. She profusely praised her son Brijendra Singh, who left the IAS to contest the elections from Hisar. “My son is a very talented man. He cracked the civil services examinations and got the ninth rank. Now, he has left his prestigious job as an IAS officer to come to serve you. Nobody helped him get the party ticket and it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji who chose him as the party candidate after various agencies in internal surveys carried out by the BJP concluded that Brijendra is the most suitable candidate from Hisar,” she said in her campaign trail. She has a rustic style of public speaking and becomes informal in speeches. She always tried to strike a direct chord with people. 

Renuka Bishnoi was critical of Dushyant, Brijendra’s family 

Bhavya Bishnoi’s mother Renuka Bishnoi toured the entire Hisar constituency but concentrated more on Narnaund, Uchana Kalan, Adampur and Bawani Khera Assembly segments. While appealing for votes for Bhavya, she used to attack both sitting MP Dushyant Chautala and the family of BJP candidate Brijendra Singh. “Dushyant was responsible for caste polarisation in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. He vitiated the ‘bhaichara’ among different communities. Now is the time to punish him,” she said. Renuka also criticised Brijendra’s family — his father and Union Steel Minister Birender Singh and mother Prem Lata. “People have been supporting them in their native seat of Uchana Kalan in Jind for four decades but they have done nothing for them,” she used to say in most of her speeches. 

Naina spoke with aggression, persuasion

Naina Chautala, accompanied by Sheila Bhyan, started her day around 9.30 am. Her ‘Hari Chunari Ki Chaupal’ programmes has given her adequate experience to connect with people. She delivered speeches mixed with aggression and persuasion. “Dushyant always remains among you and takes care of your issues and interests. Beware of the people who ask you to vote on the symbol of lotus. Look at their candidate and think whether he will be able to match the performance of Dushyant?” she said in most of her speeches. She would even talk about her rival campaigner moms Renuka Bishnoi and Prem Lata. At Kanwari village, on the last day of campaigning, she said, “How many times Renuka has come to you and asked you about your grievances? She and her family members have remained absent for long and now they are coming to you to seek votes for Bhavya. You should also ask Prem Lata to hand over Rs 15 lakh, which the BJP had promised, before committing your votes for her son,” she said.

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