Baroda bypoll: Senior leaders take charge of campaign

Mukesh Tandon

Tribune News Service

Panipat, October 28

The battle for Baroda bypoll has reached its interesting turn. The BJP-JJP coalition, Congress and the INLD senior leaders have now taken up the command of the election campaign for their candidates.

BJP-JJP candidate Yogeshwar Dutt, Congress’ Induraj Narwal, INLD’s Joginder Malik and LSP candidate and former Kurukshetra MP Rajkumar Saini are among 14 candidates in the electoral fray in Baroda constituency.

All party leaders are leaving no stone unturned for the victory of their party candidate and to strengthen the party.

The BJP-JJP coalition has scheduled programmes of CM Manohar Lal Khattar and Deputy CM Dushyant Chautala for campaigning for October 29 and 31 and Congress’ senior leaders have also reached Baroda for campaigning.

Besides, INLD supremo Om Prakash Chautala along with Abhay Singh Chautala have taken up the command of campaign of their candidate.

As per political experts, Baroda bye-poll has become a challenge for the BJP-JJP coalition state government and the coalition accepted the challenge and prepared a strong strategy at war level to win the bye-poll.

The BJP has managed the campaigning at micro level with its common worker to senior leaders and fielded them in all villages of Baroda constituency, a political expert said.

Besides, senior party leaders of BJP as well as of JJP visited village to village to woo the voters.

Karnal MP Sanjay Bhatia said programmes of both the party (BJP and JJP) leaders, including the CM and Deputy CM, has been fixed for campaigning.

Khattar along with minister Ranjeet Chautala, Anoop Dhanak and Digvijay Chautala will be in the constituency on October 29, while the CM and the Deputy CM will be in the constituency on October 31, he added.

In the Congress camp, former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda and his son and Rajya Sabha member Deepender Singh Hooda were regularly visiting villages in the constituency for the past one week. Besides, Congress state incharge Vivek Bansal, state chief Kumari Selja and other senior party leaders have also visited the constituency and held meetings in support of candidate Induraj Narwal.

Satbeer Singh Saini, former HCS officer and state spokesman for the INLD, said the party was going to organise a big rally on October 31 in Baroda village. The student wing of the party led by Karan Chautala and Arjun Chautala are organising the rally.

Senior party leaders, including former CM Om Prakash Chautala, Abhay Singh Chautala and national president of women wing Sunaina Chautala, have also visited the constituency and will address the rally on October 31, he added.