Baroda bypoll: Prestige issue for Congress, challenge for allies BJP, JJP

Mukesh Tandon

Tribune News Service

Panipat, October 14

The Baroda bypoll is a litmus test for the BJP-JJP coalition as well as for the Congress. Baroda is a rural constituency considered the bastion of former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. The BJP has never won the segment.

The seat fell vacant in April after the death of Congress MLA Sri Krishan Hooda, who represented the constituency four times starting in 2005.

It will be the challenge for the BJP-JJP coalition to register a win, while it will be a prestige issue for the Congress, especially for the former CM to maintain his stronghold.

“This time, it will be tough for Hooda to prove himself,” a political analyst said.

Baroda was a stronghold of the INLD from 1977 to 2005. In the 2005 Assembly elections, Sri Krishan Hooda had offered his seat (Garhi Sampla-Kiloi) to Bhupinder Singh Hooda. To return the favour, the Congress fielded Sri Krishan Hooda from Baroda. He bucked the “outsider” tag and won the seat four times on the trot.

This time, analysts say, a lot is banking on the selection of the candidate. “The Congress had fielded parachute candidate Sri Krishan Hooda in 2005. That move paid off and he won from Baroda four times. The situation is different this time. Electors want a local candidate, who can represent their aspirations in the Assembly,” a political analyst said.

In all, 29 leaders have applied for the Congress ticket and 25 for the BJP’s.

The saffron party has launched a campaign under the leadership of former state president Subhash Barala.

Karnal MP Sanjay Bhatia, who is managing the BJP-JJP’s campaign, claimed the coalition would create history by winning Baroda.

Senior BJP leaders, including state party chief Om Prakash Dhankar, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Agriculture Minister JP Dalal, have visited the segment.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Hooda has claimed that the party would win the bypoll on the basis of development works carried out during his regime.

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