Anti-incumbency, jobs, progress emerge key factors in Bhiwani-Mahendragarh

Sunit Dhawan

Rohtak, May 16

Voters of the Bhiwani-Mahendragarh constituency may seem silent on the surface, but they have been quietly assessing the performance of successive governments in the state as well as the Centre.

Acute scarcity of water, unemployment even among the educated youth, lack of industrial and institutional development and anti-incumbency factor have emerged as the key factors as the elections draw near.

“Anti-incumbency of a single term also counts in the elections, but its effect becomes much more intense after the completion of two consecutive terms,” observes Dr Ranbir Kadiyan, a political analyst. He points out that factors such as region, caste and factionalism have become diluted in these elections as the residents have become more politically aware and begun analysing the performance of the BJP and Congress regimes.

“People-centric issues like spiralling prices and development — or the lack of it — are more likely to play a decisive role in shaping the outcome of these elections,” says Kadiyan.

“All Yadav voters are backing Congress candidate as there is a considerable influence of Rao Inderjit Singh, who has put his weight behind Dharambir Singh. If a major chunk of the non-Yadav electors vote for the BJP, he may stand a chance of having a hat-trick,” states RS Chauhan, a political commentator.

People-centric issues main factor

People-centric issues like spiralling prices and lack of development are more likely to play a decisive role in these elections. — Dr Ranbir Kadiyan, political analyst