Will be 5-0 in our favour: Khattar

Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 15

A day ahead of polling, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday exuded confidence that the BJP would win all five municipal corporations.

Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said the BJP would lose in all the five corporations while Leader of Opposition Abhay Singh Chautala said the contests would be tough.

Polling for elections to Karnal, Panipat, Yamunanagar, Hisar and Rohtak municipal corporations and municipal committees of Jakhal in Fatehabad and Pundri in Kaithal would be held on Sunday. Counting of votes would be held on Wednesday.

People were primarily interested in municipal corporation polls because of bigger area, direct election of mayor and the fact that several political parties were contesting the polls on party symbol.

While the BJP and the INLD-BSP alliance had fielded their candidates in these elections, the Congress was not contesting the polls on symbol, but supporting independent candidates who had the potential of defeating the BJP.

The CPM had fielded its candidate in Rohtak, where its candidate Jagmati Sangwan was being supported by AAP and Swaraj Abhiyan.

“The result will be 5-0 in favour of the BJP. We went to the people on the agenda of development and the way in which we gave clean and transparent governance. People remember how kin of Chief Ministers used to extort money from traders in the past. In our regime, we have not allowed anyone to harass people in the name of the government,” said Khattar.

Hooda claimed that the BJP would lose all five corporations. “The BJP has completely failed to deliver during the past four years. This has proved to be a non-performing government. People are eagerly waiting for an opportunity to dislodge this government and can give vent to their ire in the elections,” he said.

He said the results of recent Assembly elections in five states had proved that the people were now fed up with the BJP government.

Abhay said tough contests were being witnessed in these mayoral polls. He said though the contests were very tough this time, the INLD-BSP combine would definitely win two or three seats. He claimed that Khattar had completely exposed himself by “playing the caste card” in his desperation to win the polls.

“One does not expect the Chief Minister to seek votes on the basis of caste. This is more so in case of Khattar, who has given the slogan of ‘Haryana Ek, Haryanvi Ek’ in an effort to convey the message that he does not believe in the caste system,” he added.