Rao Inderjit’s prestige at stake in Ateli

The Ateli Assembly constituency has become a hot seat following the entry of Arti Singh Rao (45), daughter of Union Minister and Ahir stalwart Rao Inderjit Singh, in the electoral battle. This is her debut Assembly election. She is locked in a multi-cornered contest in this Ahir-dominated constituency being represented by BJP MLAs for the past two elections.

Interestingly, three women are among the main contestants and two of them are trying their luck in the electoral battle for the first time. Besides Arti, another debutant Aayushi Yadav (37), a niece of former minister and BJP candidate from Badshahpur (Gurugram) Rao Narbir Singh, has been fielded by the JJP. Aayushi had served as a sarpanch of Shaharanwas village in Rewari district.

The third woman is Anita Yadav (60), a three-time former MLA, who is in the fray on the Congress ticket. She also served as the Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) in the then Congress government led by Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Thakur Attar Lal (66) has again jumped into the battle as the BSP candidate. He had sprung a surprise in the previous Assembly polls in 2019 by emerging a runner-up with 37,387 votes. A considerable number of Rajput votes and the cadre of BSP in the constituency have brought him in the main contest. Suneel Rao is trying his fortune on the AAP ticket. Rao is the brother-in-law of Bollywood actor Rajkummar Rao.

Arti Singh Rao is seeking votes by striking an emotional chord with voters during her poll campaign. “I have come here to be part of your joys and sorrows. My grandfather, Rao Birendra Singh, became the Chief Minister after he won from Ateli. My father has also worked here. It is your affection that you have never left my family. Whenever my family has come here, you have supported us whole-heartedly,” she asks the people.

Arti has also promised the people of ensuring holistic development of Ateli constituency. His father Rao Inderjit too is carrying out canvassing for her. Rao Inderjit, a six-time MP and a four-time MLA, is an influential leader of the Ahirwal region

Similarly, Anita Yadav is seeking votes on the basis of development works undertaken in the constituency during the previous Congress regime. She is also banking upon the anti-incumbency of the BJP government. Besides them, Thakur Attar Lal and Aayushi Yadav are putting both — the BJP and the Congress — in the dock in terms of development in Ateli during their regimes.

Thakur is promising to set up industrial model township (IMT) in the constituency to generate employment avenues for locals.