Rohtak: JJP, INLD may upset Congress’ applecart
Sunit Dhawan
Rohtak, March 29
The Congress leadership is yet to announce its candidate for the Rohtak Lok Sabha seat, but INDIA bloc allies AAP and CPM have already pledged their support to the Congress.
On the other hand, the JJP and the INLD may harm Congress prospects and benefit the BJP by attracting some votes from the Congress’ vote bank. Former state minister and Congress leader Krishan Murti Hooda, who recently joined the BJP, is also campaigning against the Congress.
The Congress and the BJP are locked in a direct contest in Rohtak. Though the JJP has recently parted ways with the BJP, political observers point out that its stance seems to be more against the Congress than the BJP.
The INLD can also dent the vote share of the Congress and it may field a family member of its former state president Nafe Singh Rathi, who was recently shot dead.
Rathi’s clan has a sound base in the Bahadurgarh Assembly segment, which is part of the Rohtak Lok Sabha constituency.
This Assembly segment has remained a challenge for the Congress, whose candidate Deepender Hooda trailed from here in the last two elections.
Although Deepender is likely to be fielded by the Congress, a formal announcement is yet to be made. “My name is the only one from the Rohtak constituency on the list of Congress candidates under consideration of the party leadership,” he said.
Asked about certain parties fielding candidates to siphon off votes from the Congress support base, he said people of the constituency were aware of such designs and would not get misled.
Cong leaders fled during Jat quota stir: BJP
The BJP candidate for the Rohtak Lok Sabha seat, Arvind Sharma, has claimed that Congress leaders, who claimed to be well-wishers of local residents, had abandoned them and fled while the state was burning during the Jat agitation for reservation. “People have not forgotten the rampant corruption during Congress rule,” he said, talking to reporters during a workers’ meeting in Rohtak on Friday. Asked about Deepender’s name being finalised from Rohtak, Sharma quipped that the Congress was an in-house party of former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda and he could take any decision.
