All in one — city on move, rest unmoved

Sumedha Sharma

Gurugram is probably a unique Lok Sabha constituency in Haryana, all thanks to the striking difference in the condition of people living in its various Assembly segments.

On the one end of the spectrum is Gurugram, the swanky millennium city of malls and high-rises, and on the other is Nuh, one of most backward districts of the country. This stark difference is evident in the mood and expectations of the 20 lakh voters here who are set to vote in the Lok Sabha elections.

While issues like infrastructure upgrade, law and order and projects like peripheral highways are dominant in Gurugram city, the satellite towns of Pataudi, Sohna, Baadshahpur, Rewari and even industrial hub Bawal are abuzz with issues pertaining to the lack of civic amenities.

Mewat, however, is sticking to its decade-old issues of lack of railway connectivity, potable water, insufficient irrigation and non-renewal of driving licences. Around 3 lakh voters are registered in Gurugram city and given the recent massive road infrastructure upgrade and finishing of pending projects like the Dwarka expressway, voters seem inclined towards the incumbent BJP government.

“We can feel a difference in the city in the past two years. For the past eight years, I have been travelling from Delhi to my office in Udyog Vihar. I can say for sure that for a majority of people like me, traffic mess was the biggest problem in our lives. We would be stuck in jam for hours. The new underpasses have smoothened things. Now, the maximum waiting time at any junction in Gurugram is 15 minutes. The city has started appearing millennial only now,” says MNC executive Rahul Dahiya.

“There is a huge difference in law and order especially over the past year. Commuting to college from my home in Baadshahpur was a nightmare with regular eve-teasing. Now, we see more police personnel on the road and outside the college. Also, there are more policewomen in sight to approach in case of need. Even the guys get scared when you threaten police action,” says 21-year-old Babita Rani.

However, a section of voters inhabiting new Gurugram and areas near Kherki Daula toll are up against the incumbent MP for not fulfilling the promise of getting the toll removed. The “satisfied” mood, however, gets diluted as you leave the urban limits behind and enter rural areas or the other segments like Sohna.

“Except for posh societies and institutes on Sohna road, nothing has changed in our town. We are still way behind Gurugram in getting basic amenities, be it sanitation or power and even water in some pockets. There was a huge promise of development of HSIIDC SEZ and talks of transformation like Manesar by getting Maruti here, but nothing like that has happened. The dreams of employment generation have crashed,” says 58-year-old Mukesh Singh, a former sarpanch from Sohna.

The resentment is shared across Assembly segments which feel that all promises and endeavours were confined to just Gurugram city. In areas like Pataudi, even the local MLA has openly voiced allegations of apathy and indifference.

Rewari, which is traditionally the home turf of incumbent MP Rao Inderjit Singh, seems to be a bit happier with the recent Budget announcement of setting up of AIIMS.

Meanwhile, Mewat seems to be the angriest with the locals claiming to having been duped yet again. In addition to their persistent issues of lack of employment, drinking water, irrigation, educational and health facilities, Mewat claims to have suffered at the hands of “saffronisation” during the BJP regime.

SITTING MP 
Rao Inderjit Singh (BJP)

A Congressman for 35 years, Rao Inderjit Singh switched over to the BJP before the 2014 General Election. An Ahirwal stalwart, Rao Inderjit has been on a winning spree since 1998 and is currently Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers.

Key players

BJP: Rao Inderjit Singh | Congress: Captain Ajay Singh Yadav, Rao Daan Singh | INLD: Zakir Hussain | AAP, JNP: Yet to decide

ASSEMBLY SEGMENTS

The parliamentary seat has nine Assembly segments Bawal (SC), Rewari, Pataudi (SC), Gurugram, Sohna, Nuh, Ferozpur Jhirka, Punhana, and Baadshahpur. BJP has six Assembly seats while INLD has two. An Independent won the Punhana seat. 

Total voters: 20,42,316

Male: 10,92,820

Female: 9,49,496