Haryana Diary: Politicisation of half marathon

Faridabad: Putting up large posters of the Prime Minister and Chief Minister on the occasion of the first half marathon event held at Faridabad on Sunday attracted criticism from the Opposition parties and activists, who described it as a form of election campaign in the guise of a sports event. The presence of life-size posters of ruling party leaders and chanting of religious slogans indicate that the government machinery and public funds are being used for the promotion of the ruling party as the Lok Sabha elections are around the corner, said a political analyst.

Flip-flop over Hooda rally in Uklana

Hisar: Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda was denied permission to hold a public meeting in the Uklana Assembly constituency by the local administration due to the imposition of Section 144 of the CrPC in view of the farmers’ agitation and ongoing school examinations. The senior Congress leader had announced that the public meeting would be held on March 2. According to sources, the administration had initially granted permission for the meeting and certain local leaders, including former MLA Naresh Selwal, had even put up hoardings and started mobilising their supporters for the rally. However, they were later denied permission.

BJP ticket aspirants paint town saffron

Gurugram: While the BJP is busy preparing for the Lok Sabha elections, the leaders aspiring to get a party ticket have stepped up their efforts. With the party giving special importance to visibility and social media outreach, the ticket aspirants in Gurugram have started getting the entire city painted in the party’s colour, highlighting Prime Minister Modi’s confidence of emerging victorious in the poll. Interestingly, a recently appointed BJP office-bearer did not even spare the NHAI flyovers as side-walls of an overpass on the Delhi-Jaipur Expressway have been painted, with due credit being given to him. However, the civic authorities appear to have turned a blind eye to this act of defacement.

BJP prepares for battle of Panipat

Panipat: BJP leaders have pulled up their socks for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, inaugurating the party’s poll offices across the state. Local MLA Pramod Vij’s office on the National Highway-44 near the old bus stand has been converted into an election office for the Panipat Urban Assembly segment. The local BJP leaders and party workers have started holding meetings and planning the poll campaign for the party candidate.

Yadav goes to Alwar, race for ticket opens up

Mahendragarh: The speculation over the prospective BJP candidates for the Bhiwani-Mahendragarh Lok Sabha seat is rife after the party fielded Union Minister Bhupinder Yadav from Alwar (Rajasthan) on Friday. Yadav was a strong contender for the seat and his supporters had even started looking for space to open his election offices in Mahendragarh district. Now, the names of incumbent MP Dharambir Singh, former MP Sudha Yadav and former minister Ram Bilas Sharma are doing the rounds for the party ticket.

(Contributed by Deepender Deswal, Sumedha Sharma, Mukesh Tandon, Ravinder Saini and Bijendra Ahlawat)