Rao Inderjit focuses on Kosli, Mahendragarh for Ahir votes

Tribune News Service

Sumedha Sharma

Gurugram, May 24

With his seat being cited as secure, BJP candidate and incumbent MP from Gurgaon, Rao Inderjit Singh, spent last two days concentrating on the Kosli Assembly segment under the Rohtak constituency and Bhiwani-Mahendragarh constituency. Rao was asked by the party high command to consolidate Ahir votes in favour of the candidates in the fray, Dr Arvind Sharma and Dharambir Singh.

KOSLI CRUCIAL ASSEMBLY SEAT FOR BJP

• Falling in Rao Inderjit Singh’s home district Rewari, Kosli is a crucial Assembly seat for the BJP as it was the segment that led to defeat of Congress leader Deepender Hooda in 2019 Lok Sabha election.
• Similarly, four Assembly seats in Bhiwani-Mahendragarh constituency are dominated by Ahirs and Congress candidate Rao Daan Singh has been striking a chord with them.
• BJP’s internal survey highlights that outcome in these four Ahir-dominated Assembly segments with around 4.5 lakh votes is largely dependent on Rao Inderjit and the Modi factor.

As part of the mandate, Rao spent last two days campaigning in these two Assembly segments. He participated in Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari's rally in Kosli and PM Narendra Modi's rally in Mahendragarh. After the end of the campaign, he met Ahir leaders to ensure the community voted for the BJP. The BJP had listed Inderjit as the star campaigner and insisted that he gave special attention to Yadav and Ahir voters' dominated seats. While in the initial phases of the campaigning, Rao did campaign in two segments. Ever since the announcement of Raj Babbar as the Congress candidate from Gurgaon, he had been concentrating on his own constituency.

With no BJP star campaigners coming to Gurgaon, Rao, along with his daughter Aarti Rao, had been holding the fort. Notably, 74-year-old veteran leader Rao Inderjit Singh has been an MP for five terms and this had been his most rigorous election campaign till date.

With the party infighting, anti-incumbency and forthcoming Assembly elections in consideration, Rao was fighting not just to win, but with the highest margin. Sources in the BJP said the party's analysis predicted victory for Rao, but his absence from Kosli and Mahendragarh had brought to the fore some worrisome voter trends. Rao had been called in for damage control. As part of a plan, Rao spent May 22 in Kosli, sharing stage with Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, who credited him for the development of Ahirwal belt. Similarly, he mobilised Ahir voters in Mahendragarh during the last hours of campaigning to ensure win for the BJP nominee. "We are counting Gurgaon as a safe seat, but in Kosli and Mahendragarh, we need to retain Ahir and Yadav votes. Rao enjoys popularity there, and we want his words to be the last the voters hear. So, we are getting him to mobilise voters there," said a senior BJP campaign strategist.

When contacted, Rao Inderjit said: "I will not comment on any strategy or plan. We have been campaigning as and where the party wants us to. I have worked not just for Gurgaon, but for entire south Haryana. I have been attached to the people for generations. I am just talking about development everywhere."

Falling in Rao's home district Rewari, Kosli is a crucial Assembly seat for the BJP as it was the segment that led to the defeat of Congress leader Deepender Hooda in 2019 Lok Sabha election and victory of Dr Arvind Kumar Sharma. Similarly, four Assembly seats in Bhiwani-Mahendragarh constituency are dominated by Ahirs and Congress candidate Rao Daan Singh has been striking a chord with them.

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