HVP citadel under threat
From Jatinder Sharma
Tribune News Service

BHIWANI: Overcoming initial shocks, the HVP candidate, Mr Surender Singh, appears to be bouncing back and make the contest triangular in this high profile parliamentary constituency.

The father of the HVP nominee and former Chief Minister, Mr Bansi Lal, has launched a vigorous campaign to defend his citadel which faces a serious threat from the INLD candidate, Mr Ajay Singh Chautala, son of Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala and the Congress nominee, Mr Dharamvir, a protege of former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal.

The constituency, spread over Bhiwani and Hisar districts, has always been considered as a stronghold of Mr Bansi Lal. Out of the nine assembly segments, seven fall in Bhiwani and two in Hisar districts.

Except in 1977, Mr Bansi Lal or his nominee had never lost from this constituency. After Mr Jangveer Singh, who was elected to the Lok Sabha on the HVP ticket in 1991, changed loyalties and joined the Congress, Mr Bansi Lal fielded Mr Surender Singh in 1996 and 1998 parliamentary elections.

While Mr Surender Singh won with a thumping majority of over two lakh votes in 1996, he scrapped through with a thin margin of nearly 9700 votes in the last elections, though Mr Bansi Lal was at the helm of the affairs in the state at that time.However, the dramatic changes in the political scenario in the state disturbed the equations in this parliamentary constituency.

The ouster of Mr Bansi Lal from Chief Ministership on the eve of the elections and installation of Mr Chautala in his place seem to have demoralised the HVP activists and boosted the moral of the INLD whose candidate, Mr Ajay Singh Chautala had lost narrowly in 1998.

The HVP activists still appear psychologically demoralised and may not be able to mobilise the voters as in previous elections. The change of loyalties by a section of the HVP functionaries have also subdued their spirits.Realising the gravity of the situation, Mr Bansi Lal, unmindful of his illness, took over the command of electioneering to boost the moral of his followers. He has to some extent been successful so far.

But the road does not appear very smooth for the HVP candidate. The INLD candidate, Mr Ajay Singh Chautala, seems to have succeeded in making inroads into the stronghold of Mr Bansi Lal. The presence of the Congress candidate in the fray has also made the task tough for Mr Bansi Lal.During the 1998 elections, Mr Surender Singh had polled more votes than his INLD rival in the Dadri, Bhiwani, Tosham, and Bawani Khera Assembly segments.

Mr Ajay Singh Chautala was ahead of him in the Badhra, Mundhal, Hansi and Adampur segments.The situation, however, appears different in these elections.

While Mr Ajay Singh appears to be maintaining his lead in these segments, except in Bhiwani and Adampur, he seemingly has gained ground in other segments.

He is facing a tough challenge from the Congress candidate, Mr Dharamvir, in the Adampur segment believed to be a fiefdom of former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal.Mr Bansi Lal is making all efforts to retrieve the lost ground. He even regrets for the ‘so-called excesses’ committed during his regime and assures the voters that such ‘mistakes’ will never be repeated in future.

Addressing a gathering at Badhra on Monday, he said he was against firing on farmers at Mandiali in 1997 and blamed a police officer for acting on his own. “Though I was not at fault, I still apologise for that action”, he remarked.

The campaign launched by the Congress and the HVP candidates does not appear to be any match to that of the INLD. The Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, is not leaving anything to chance this time and has toured the entire parliamentary constituency to intensify the electioneering of his son.

The presence of the CPM candidate, Mr Parbhat Singh, has in fact made the contest close among the three major contenders. He is eating into the vote banks of them and affecting the INLD a bit more as a section of the government employees, which otherwise could have supported Mr Ajay Singh Chautala, was working for him.

The outcome of the result will have far reaching implications on the political scene of the state. If the HVP candidate loses, this may prove to be an end of road for the party. Mr Ajay Chautala’s defeat, would prove to be a big setback for the INLD supremo and Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala.