Haryana set for 4-way contest

Pradeep Sharma
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, April 21

With just two days left for the filing of nomination papers, battlelines have been drawn for the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana with a keen four-cornered contest in the offing.

The campaigning for the sixth phase of the General Election has gathered pace with five major political players, vying for honours in the battle of ballot on May 12, declaring their candidates barring for a few seats.

The ruling BJP, Congress, INLD and JJP-AAP are the key players though BSP-LSP is also in the fray. The elections come a few months before the Assembly elections in October. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), traditional ally of the INLD, is supporting the ruling BJP this time around.

While the BJP, INLD and Congress have declared candidates for all seats, the JJP is yet to name candidates from Kurukshetra, Sonepat and Gurugram seats.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had registered its best-ever performance, winning seven out of 10 seats, while the INLD secured two seats and the Congress one.

The results will set the tone for the Assembly elections due later this year. Riding on its splendid performance in the 2014 parliamentary elections, the BJP formed the government on its own in the subsequent Assembly elections in October, winning 47 seats in the 90-member House.

In these elections, the BJP is banking on development besides a split in the Opposition vote. On the other hand, the faction-ridden Congress is pinning hopes on anti-incumbency against the ruling BJP both at the Centre and state besides charisma of its candidates to better its performance.

The JJP-AAP alliance, which secured second position in the Jind byelections by securing around 38,000 votes ahead of Congress’ 22,000 votes, is hoping to cash in on youth and new voters to make its debut in the Lok Sabha polls.

The INLD, which split recently resulting in the formation of the Jannayak Janata Party, is also trying hard to stay relevant in the state politics.

High-stakes battle

• The BJP, Congress, INLD, JJP-AAP and BSP-LSP are main players in the May 12 LS polls
• In the 2014 elections, the BJP won seven seats, followed by INLD (2) and Congress (1) 
• BJP is banking on development and split in Opposition votes, Congress on anti-incumbency
• JJP-AAP alliance is eyeing youth & new voters, while INLD is fighting for survival after a split