Curtains on high-decibel campaigning in Haryana

Pradeep Sharma
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, May 10

It was a day out for big guns in Haryana today, the last day of campaigning for the high-stakes May 12 Lok Sabha elections.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah and former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, besides  JJP leader Dushyant Chautala and INLD leader and MLA Abhay Chautala wooed voters at mega rallies across the state.  

In Jatland Rohtak, Modi slammed the Congress over Rahul Gandhi’s aide Sam Pitroda’s reported hua toh hua (what happened, happened) remark on the anti-Sikh riots alleging that this showed the character, mentality and intentions of the Congress. The BJP is trying its best to wrest the seat from sitting MP Deepender Hooda, son of former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Hooda Senior, in another Jatland town of Gohana (Sonepat), pitched himself as the chief ministerial candidate (though he is contesting from the Sonepat parliamentary seat) in the run-up to this year’s Assembly elections saying that he was being victimised by the ruling BJP for taking up the issues of the common man.  

In Barwala under Hisar parliamentary segment, Shah harped on the nationalism narrative of the BJP in the wake of the Balakot strike and Congress’ soft approach towards terrorism. Alleged corruption during Hooda’s regime and former CM Om Prakash Chautala’s ‘gundagardi’ also came under attack from the BJP chief. The JJP, which is fighting its first LS elections in alliance with AAP, flexed its muscles in Jind where its star campaigner Dushyant Chautala asserted that only JJP-AAP could provide an alternative to the traditional parties.

Meanwhile, the INLD, which is fighting for political survival in the wake of the split resulting in the formation of the JJP, also held at rally at Kurukshetra where Abhay Chautala came down heavily on both the BJP and the Congress for not doing much for the state during their tenures.

Tight security in place

A total of around 67,000 police personnel have been mobilised for election duty. These included 95 companies of Central Armed Police Forces besides 33,340 state police personnel, 11,750 Home Guards, 8,063 Special Police Officers and 5,788 police trainees. Senior police officers, including six IGPs, one DIG and 12 SPs will monitor law and order in each district to ensure free and fair polling.

Largest constituency: Gurgaon (21.39 lakh)  |  Smallest constituency: Sonepat (15.83 lakh)