Chandigarh:

Having been granted bail to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year, Delhi Chief Minister and Arvind Kejriwal will be released from jail again just ahead of the Assembly elections in Haryana, which is being seen as a big boost for the AAP in a state where it is hoping to do well. 

The party erupted in joy after a Supreme Court granted him bail in the Delhi excise policy case on Friday, noting that his “prolonged incarceration amounts to unjust deprivation of liberty”, and the AAP Haryana handle posted a video of Mr Kejriwal with a fire emoji, writing: “He is back”. 

AAP’s Haryana unit chief Sushil Gupta said Mr Kejriwal would campaign in the state, adding that the people are looking for a change. “We will now fight the polls with double energy. Kejriwal ji will soon start his campaign in Haryana,” he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

“People are looking for a ‘badlav’ (change), they want to elect an honest government, which can ensure good education and health facilities, round-the-clock power supply and overall development… People want to bring the AAP to power and we will win the polls,” Mr Gupta added.

Voting will be held in all of Haryana’s 90 Assembly constituencies on October 5 and the AAP released its sixth list of 19 candidates on Thursday, the last day for filing nominations. The party is contesting 89 seats after its talks of an alliance with INDIA partner Congress fell through. The AAP had sought to contest at least 10 seats as part of the alliance but the Congress was willing to give up only five to seven.

The state unit of the Congress had, in fact, reportedly been against a tie-up with the AAP but talks had been held at the insistence of senior leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, who had said that it would prevent a division of votes and give the opposition its best chance of defeating the BJP.

The BJP has ruled in Haryana since 2014 but the opposition has been buoyed by its performance in the recent Lok Sabha polls, where the state’s 10 seats were split evenly between the BJP and the Congress after a clean sweep by the BJP in 2019. Opposition parties are also hoping that they can capitalise on the discontent among farmers, who have been protesting seeking a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP), anger over the Agnipath scheme for recruitment in the armed forces and the anger among athletes following the protest against former BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh by wrestlers last year. 

While the AAP had lost the lone Lok Sabha seat – Kurukshetra – it had contested by a margin of 29,000 votes, the party believes it can do well because it is in power in Delhi and Punjab, two states that border Haryana, where, its leaders claim, people are happy with its policies. 

Along these lines, campaigning in the Asandh Assembly constituency on Thursday, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha had made a “triple-engine” pitch for development.

“On one side of Haryana there’s Punjab which has an AAP government and on the other side there’s Delhi with an AAP government too. If the AAP government is formed in Haryana then a triple engine of development will run in the state,” he had said. 

“We listen on the radio, Mirchi sunne waale always khush (Those who listen to Mirchi are always happy). Similarly, Kejriwal ko chunne wala always khush (Those who choose Kejriwal are always happy),” the MP had added. 
 

Chandigarh:

Releasing its third and biggest list for the Haryana Assembly so far, the Congress has named candidates for 40 of the state’s 90 Assembly constituencies. The list includes Aditya Surjewala, who is the son of Congress’ Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Singh Surjewala, as well as two people who had filed their nomination from the constituencies they wanted to represent even before their names were announced by the party. 

With the third list released on Wednesday, the party has named candidates for 81 seats in all, leaving a question mark only on nine remaining seats. The announcement came on a day when the BJP released its final list of three candidates for the polls. 

Aditya Surjewala has been fielded from the Kaithal Assembly constituency, from where his father and Congress General Secretary has been elected an MLA at least twice. 

From the Palwal constituency, former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s in-law Karan Dalal has been given a ticket and so has Vikas Saharan, son of party MP Jai Parkash, from the Kalayat Assembly constituency. Both of these leaders had filed their nominations before their names were announced by the Congress. 

From the Kosali Assembly constituency, the party has denied a ticket to Rao Yaduvender Singh, brother of BJP’s Gurgaon MP and Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh, and fielded Jagdish Yadav instead. Rao Yaduvender Singh had contested from the constituency in 2019 and lost by a margin of over 38,000 votes. 

In the third list, five women have got tickets – Pearl Chaudhary from Pataudi, Anita Yadav from Ateli, Sumita Virk from Karnal, Pooja Chaudhary from Mulana and Parag Sharma from Ballabgarh. Pooja Chaudhary is the wife of Varun Choudhary, who won from Mulana in 2019 and was elected the MP from Ambala in this year’s Lok Sabha elections. 

Chander Mohan, the elder son of former chief minister Bhajan Lal and a former deputy minister in the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government, has got the ticket from Panchkula. Sombir Singh, the son-in-law of another former chief minister, Chaudhary Bansi Lal, has been fielded from the Badhra seat.

Voting for all 90 seats in Haryana will take place on October 5 and counting will be held on October 8. The BJP is hoping to retain its hold on power in the Hindi heartland state, which it has ruled since 2014, but is facing a challenge from a resurgent Congress.

What has made the contest more interesting is the fact that the state’s 10 Lok Sabha seats were split evenly between the Congress and the BJP this year after the BJP’s clean sweep in the 2014 general elections. 

Carved out as a separate constituency only in 2009, the Ladwa Assembly seat in Haryana has all eyes on it ahead of the Assembly polls in the state because the BJP has fielded Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini from there and he is seen to be facing a tough contest from sitting MLA and Congress leader Mewa Singh.

With the BJP eyeing a third consecutive victory in the Hindi heartland state and declaring Mr Saini, who took over as chief minister from Manohar Lal Khattar in March, as its chief ministerial face, NDTV visited the Ladwa constituency and spoke to people there, as well as both candidates, to get a feel of which party has the edge there.

A voter in the constituency, Sanjiv Sahni, said the main issues are inflation, unemployment and a bypass that was promised.

“The BJP has had a government here for 10 years. Before coming to power, they made many promises, including that a bypass would be built and 2 crore people would get employment. But it didn’t happen,” he said. 

Another voter said Mr Saini was an MP from the Kurukshetra Lok Sabha constituency, of which the Ladwa segment is a part, but his presence had not been felt. 

Disagreeing with the others, a voter said it is important to elect a strong leader and Mr Saini could be that person, while another emphasised the need of having someone from the ruling party as the MLA to ensure that work gets done. 

‘Will Form Government Again’

Speaking to NDTV, Mr Saini said, “I am getting a lot of love and support from the people of Ladwa. I am convinced that the BJP will get a big mandate and will form the government for the third time. We are giving cylinders at Rs 500 and have bought every last grain from farmers at the minimum support price (MSP).”

His opponent from Ladwa, Mewa Singh, claimed that people are angry at the BJP and the Congress will form a government in Haryana. 

“I won from Ladwa last time, faced a challenge and won with a margin of over 12,500 votes. In these five years, I have worked hard for the constituency and have got support from many communities, so I don’t see the upcoming polls as a challenge… The bypass is a major issue here, but that hasn’t been built. People will ask these questions of Mr Saini. People in the state want Bhupinder Singh Hooda to be the chief minister,” he said. 

Numbers Game

Political experts said Mr Saini, who had won a bypoll from Mr Khattar’s former seat of Karnal by defeating Congress’ Tarlochan Singh with a margin of over 41,000 votes in June, has been fielded from the Ladwa constituency because it has a high population of voters from the Other Backward Communities (OBCs), particularly the Saini community. 

The fact that the BJP’s Naveen Jindal won from the Kurukshetra Lok Sabha constituency, of which the Ladwa segment is a part, by a margin of over 29,000 votes is also likely to have played a part in the decision. 

OBC’s make up 40.09% of the population in the constituency with the Saini community alone accounting for 18.92%. Among non-OBC communities, Jats are a sizeable part of the population, making up 15.84%. The constituency has 1.95 lakh voters.

The constituency was carved out from the Thanesar Assembly segment in 2009 and no party has won it twice. 

Haryana will vote on October 5 and counting will be held on October 8.

Chandigarh:

In another setback for the BJP weeks ahead of the Assembly elections in Haryana, a vice president of the state unit has quit the party and accused it of prioritising leaders who have never worked for the organisation over those who have been loyal to it. The resignation of Santosh Yadav, who is also a former deputy speaker, follows a string of similar actions by leaders upset over being denied a ticket in the two lists of candidates declared by the party for the Haryana elections.

Sources said Ms Yadav was seeking a ticket from the Ateli Assembly seat, which has been allotted to Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh’s daughter Aarti Singh Rao in the second list of 21 candidates released by the BJP on Tuesday.

In a letter sent to the president of the BJP in Haryana, Ms Yadav wrote in Hindi that her dedication to the party had been unwavering and she had followed its principles and policies in every situation.

“But, with great sorrow, I have to say that the party is neglecting those people who struggled for it at the grassroots level, worked with devotion and made a significant contribution in strengthening the party. Such dedicated workers are being sidelined and priority is being given to those persons who neither worked for the party nor for the citizens of their assembly constituency. This situation is very unfortunate and it is spreading disappointment and dissatisfaction among the party workers,” she wrote.

Ms Yadav’s resignation from all party posts comes two days after a fellow vice president of the Haryana BJP, GL Sharma joined the Congress with more than 250 BJP workers on Sunday.

On Saturday, former Haryana minister Bachan Singh Arya had resigned from the BJP after the party decided to field Jannayak Janta Party rebel Ram Kumar Gautam, who had joined the party earlier this month, from the Safidon Assembly constituency.

High-Profile Exits

Mr Arya’s resignation followed the exit of two Haryana ministers – Energy Minister Ranjit Singh Chautala and Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Social Justice Bishamber Singh Valmiki – and MLA Lakshman Napa, who were denied tickets. Key OBC leader Karan Dev Kamboj also resigned from all posts in the BJP for the same reason.

The loss of Mr Chautala, 79, can hurt the party as he is the son of Chaudhary Devi Lal, one of Haryana’s tallest leaders, who served as chief minister twice and was also a deputy prime minister.

Like Ms Yadav, some of the leaders had claimed that loyalists were not being valued by the BJP.

“Perhaps the BJP does not need loyalists anymore,” Mr Kamboj had said, adding that the party was rewarding leaders who had joined it recently while ignoring those who had served it for years.

‘Lotus Can Be Given Only To 1 Person’

Amid the rebellion, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini had said last week that speculation over changing candidates should end as there was no scope for doing so. “Everyone wants a ticket, but the ‘lotus’ (BJP’s symbol) can be given to only one person… It is natural for ticket-seekers to get angry. But they will be persuaded,” he said.

Voting for all 90 seats in Haryana will take place on October 5 and counting will be held on October 8. The BJP is hoping to retain its hold on power in the Hindi heartland state, which it has ruled since 2014, but is facing a challenge from a resurgent Congress.

With its two lists, the BJP has declared the names of 88 candidates so far, including Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini from the Ladwa constituency.

Chandigarh:

The rebellion in the Haryana BJP sparked by leaders being denied tickets for the upcoming elections intensified on Saturday with a former minister joining the ranks of those who have quit the party.

Former Haryana minister Bachan Singh Arya was hoping for a ticket from the Safidon Assembly constituency but the BJP decided to field Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) rebel Ram Kumar Gautam, who had joined the party earlier this month. The JJP was a BJP ally until Nayab Singh Saini replaced Manohar Lal Khattar as the Haryana chief minister in March this year. 

The BJP had released its first list of 67 candidates on Wednesday and Mr Arya, who had lost from the Safidon Assembly constituency by a margin of about 3,500 votes in 2019, had posted a couplet on social media the next day, in which he spoke of injustice and hinted at a rebellion

“Laga do aag pani mein, shararat ho to aisi ho. Mita do hasti julmo ki, bagawat ho to aise ho. (Set fire to water, if there is mischief, let it be like this. Erase the existence of injustice, if there is a rebellion, let it be like this),” the former minister had posted. 

On Saturday, Mr Arya announced he was quitting the BJP in a terse four-line letter, stating that he was resigning from the primary membership of the party and the state executive.

Mr Arya’s resignation follows the exit of two Haryana ministers – Energy Minister Ranjit Singh Chautala and Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Social Justice Bishamber Singh Valmiki – and MLA Lakshman Napa, who were denied tickets. Key OBC leader Karan Dev Kamboj also resigned from all posts in the BJP for the same reason.

While Mr Chautala announced that he would contest as an Independent, Mr Napa said he would join the Congress.

The loss of Mr Chautala, 79, can hurt the party as he is the son of Chaudhary Devi Lal, one of Haryana’s tallest leaders, who served as chief minister twice and was also a deputy prime minister.

“I am Chaudhary Devi Lal’s son. I have some stature… I have decided to contest as an Independent,” Mr Chautala had said on Thursday.

Some of the leaders also alleged that loyalists were not being valued by the BJP.

“Perhaps the BJP does not need loyalists anymore,” Mr Kamboj had said, adding that the party was rewarding leaders who had joined recently while ignoring those who had served it for years. 

‘No Scope For Change’

Amid the rebellion, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini had said on Friday that speculation over changing candidates should end as there was no scope for doing so.  “Everyone wants a ticket, but the ‘lotus’ (BJP’s symbol) can be given to only one person… It is natural for ticket-seekers to get angry. But they will be persuaded,” he said.

The BJP, which has ruled Haryana since 2014, faces a stiffer challenge this time because it lost five of the state’s 10 Lok Sabha seats to the Congress this year after sweeping all of them in 2019. The protests by farmers – who are seeking a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) – last year’s agitation by wrestlers, and concerns over the Agnipath scheme for recruitment in the Army are seen as posing challenges to the party in the state. 

Congress Jolted Too

The Congress, which got a boost after inducting wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia into the party on Friday, also got a jolt on Saturday – just a day after releasing its first list of 32 candidates for the Haryana polls. Senior leader Rajesh Joon resigned from the Congress and decided to contest as an Independent candidate after being denied a ticket from Bahadurgarh, where the party decided to retain sitting MLA Rajinder Singh Joon. 

“The Congress leadership cheated me. I was promised a ticket but the promise was not kept. I will become an MLA by polling double the number of votes that the Congress candidate gets,” Mr Joon said. 

In the Baroda Assembly constituency, Congress leader Kapoor Singh Narwal said he was promised a ticket by Mr Hooda, but it was given to Induraj Singh Narwal.

“They have cheated the people of the constituency, not me. I will take a call on contesting as an Independent tomorrow (Sunday),” Kapoor Singh Narwal said, even as sources close to him indicated he could leave the party.

Chandigarh:

The rebellion and discontent faced by the BJP after it released its list of candidates for the Haryana Assembly polls have now come to haunt the Congress, with a senior leader resigning and announcing that he will contest as an Independent a day after the party unveiled its first list.

The Congress’ first list of 32 names included former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi, new entrant Vinesh Phogat from Julana and state unit chief Udai Bhan from Hodal. Sitting MLA Rajinder Singh Joon was renominated from Bahadurgarh, prompting a rerun of a rebellion that the constituency had seen in 2019 as well.

Senior leader Rajesh Joon met his supporters and announced that he had resigned from all posts in the Congress and would be contesting from the seat as an Independent. 

“The Congress leadership cheated me. I was promised a ticket but the promise was not kept. I will become an MLA by polling double the number of votes that the Congress candidate gets,” Mr Joon said. 

Rajesh Joon and another Congress leader had also rebelled against the party after Rajinder Singh Joon was given the ticket in 2019. They had submitted their nominations from the Bahadurgarh Assembly constituency and had withdrawn them only after Bhupinder Singh Hooda had intervened. 

Buoyed after winning 5 of the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana in the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress will hope that the discontent in the party does not hurt its chances of dislodging the BJP from a Hindi heartland state it has ruled since 2014. The party’s central leadership has also faced pushback after senior leader Rahul Gandhi pushed for a tie-up with the AAP to avoid the division of votes. 

While an in-principle agreement regarding an alliance had been announced on Wednesday, there appears to be a stalemate, with the AAP seeking 10 seats and the Congress willing to give up only five to seven. 

BJP’s Troubles

The BJP has also had to face dissent from its leaders after it released its first list of 67 names on Wednesday.  Energy Minister Ranjit Chautala and MLA Lakshman Napa quit the party after being denied tickets. While Mr Chautala has said he will contest as an Independent, Mr Napa announced that he will join the Congress.

Mr Chautala is the son of Chaudhary Devi Lal Chaudhary, one of Haryana’s tallest leaders, who served as chief minister twice and was also a deputy prime minister.

BJP MLA Shashi Ranjan Parmar had also burst into tears after his name had not featured on the list. 

Voting will take place in all 90 seats in Haryana on October 5 and counting will be held on October 8.

Jammu:

Reiterating that statehood will be restored in Jammu and Kashmir. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said ahead of the Assembly elections that “no power” can talk of autonomy there. 

The Home Minister also took aim at opposition parties, accusing the Congress, National Conference and Mehbooba Mufti’s PDP of looting the erstwhile state and asking Congress leader Rahul Gandhi not to mislead the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

Addressing BJP workers in Jammu’s Palauru on Saturday, Mr Shah referred to the removal of Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and said the upcoming election was historic because it would be the first time that voters in J&K would be casting their ballots not under two flags but under one Tricolour and under one Constitution. 

“They (opposition parties) say they want to talk to Pakistan. Let me tell you, until there is peace, there will be no talks with Pakistan… Three families – Congress, the National Conference’s Abdullah family and PDP’s Mufti family – want to take Jammu and Kashmir back to the age of corruption. They say they will bring back the old arrangement… They speak of bringing back autonomy, let me state categorically that no power can talk of autonomy in Jammu and Kashmir,” the minister said in Hindi. 

Pointing out that Rahul Gandhi and the National Conference had promised the restoration of statehood – Jammu and Kashmir was divided into two Union Territories, including Ladakh, when Article 370 was abrogated in 2019- Mr Shah said, “I want to ask Rahul baba and Abdullah sahab, how will you restore statehood? Stop misleading the people of Jammu and Kashmir… this can only be done by the Union government and PM Modi.”

“I have already said that Jammu and Kashmir will get statehood at an appropriate time after the elections. I have said this in Parliament. They are asking for something that we have already given, have you seen anything like this before,” he asked.

Accusing previous governments of turning a blind eye to terrorism, Mr Shah said that, in the 10 years under PM Modi, the BJP has worked to reduce terrorism by 70% and also taken on terrorists. He cited the success of the Amarnath yatra and the reopening of theatres as proof of this and said terrorism will make a comeback if Congress and the National Conference, which are contesting the elections in an alliance, return to power in J&K.

In Jammu and Kashmir for a two-day visit, Mr Shah had unveiled the party’s manifesto on Friday and said Article 370 was “history” and would never come back. The Union Territory will vote in three phases between September 18 and October 1. Counting will take place on October 8. 

Unveiling the manifesto for the upcoming Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Home Minister Amit Shah has ruled out the restoration of Article 370, which granted special status to the erstwhile state, and said the provision has now “become history”. 

The restoration of Article 370, which was abrogated in 2019, has been promised in the manifesto released by the National Conference, which is contesting the elections in an alliance with the Congress. The Assembly polls will be the first since 2014 and are also being keenly watched to gauge how the people of Jammu and Kashmir feel about the removal of the provision.

New Delhi:

Shaking up the political landscape in Haryana weeks ahead of the Assembly elections in the state, wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia have joined the Congress. 

Both Olympians, who had been at the forefront of last year’s protests against the alleged sexual assault and intimidation by former Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, had met senior Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday.

On Friday, Ms Phogat and Mr Punia, who are both 30 years old, met Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge at his residence before formally joining the party at its headquarters in New Delhi. 

“Chak de India, Chak de Haryana! Met our talented champions Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, who have made India proud in the world, at 10, Rajaji Marg. We are proud of both of you,” Mr Kharge posted in Hindi on X. 

चक दे इंडिया, चक दे हरियाणा!

दुनिया में भारत का नाम रौशन करने वाले हमारे प्रतिभाशाली चैंपियन विनेश फोगाट और बजरंग पुनिया से 10 राजाजी मार्ग पर मुलाक़ात।

हमें आप दोनों पर गर्व है। pic.twitter.com/aFRwfFeeo1

— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) September 6, 2024

Speaking at the event at the Congress office, Ms Phogat said it is only when times are bad that people know who is really standing with them. 

“I want to thank the people of the country for supporting me during my wrestling career and I hope I live up to their expectations. I want to thank the Congress because, as they say, it is only when times are bad that one finds out who is standing with them. When we were dragged on the roads, every party other than the BJP stood with us and understood our pain and our tears,” she said in Hindi.

“I am very proud to be associated with a party that stands up against misbehaviour and injustice against women… I want to assure the people of the country that we will work for them with the same intensity with which we worked in wrestling. We stand with every woman who finds herself helpless. If I wanted, I could have left wrestling at Jantar Mantar (during the protests) but I reached the finals of the Olympics… but God had other plans. He has now given me a chance to serve the people of my country,” she added.

Mr Punia said the Congress backed the wrestlers during their protest without even being asked to while BJP MPs ignored letters seeking their support.

“We are paying the price for raising our voice in support of the daughters of the country… We will keep working for the people of the country and strengthen the Congress party as well as India. Everyone was happy when Vinesh Phogat reached the finals but some people also celebrated when she was disqualified,” he said.

While no official announcement has been made yet, Ms Phogat is expected to contest from the Julana constituency, held by the Jannayak Janta Party, in the Haryana Assembly polls while Mr Punia is likely to be fielded from the Badli seat.

Resignation From Railways

Hours before joining the Congress, Ms Phogat resigned as an officer on special duty (OSD) with the Northern Railways, citing personal reasons. 

Posting a photo of her resignation letter, the wrestler wrote on X: “Serving Indian Railways has been a memorable and proud time of my life. At this point in my life, I have decided to separate myself from my service in the railways and have submitted my resignation to the competent authorities of the Indian Railways. I will always be grateful to the Indian Railway family for this opportunity given to me by the Railways in the service of the nation.

Ms Phogat’s popularity has received a boost recently after she missed out on what would have been at least a silver medal after being disqualified for exceeding the weight limit by 100 grams ahead of the final bout in the 50 kg freestyle wrestling event. The grit shown by the wrestler in defeating reigning gold medallist Yui Susaki of Japan and going on to enter the final had earned her plaudits while her eventual disqualification had broken a billion hearts. 

Farmers’ Support

Ms Phogat announced her retirement from wrestling after the disqualification and all eyes had been on her next steps. Last week, she reached the Haryana-Punjab Shambhu border, extended her support to farmers staging a protest for a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) for crops and said she stood with them as their daughter. 

“Your agitation completes 200 days today. I pray to God that you get what you have come here for – your right, for justice…Your daughter stands with you. I also urge the government… we too are citizens of this country, if we raise our voices it is not political every time…You should hear them…What they are demanding is not unlawful,” she had said. 

Boost To Congress

The entry of the wrestlers into the Congress is expected to give it a boost as Ms Phogat is seen to enjoy support among farmers, who make up a significant voting bloc in Haryana. The Congress is hoping that the farmers’ anger against the BJP will help it dislodge the party from a state it has ruled since 2014. 

The Congress will also hope that Mr Punia and Ms Phogat joining the party will give it an upper hand in its negotiations with INDIA ally AAP in seat-sharing for the 90 constituencies in the state. While an in-principle agreement regarding an alliance had been announced on Wednesday, there appears to be a stalemate between the two parties with the AAP seeking 10 seats and the Congress willing to give up only five to seven. 

Upbeat after winning five out of the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana this year after the BJP’s clean sweep in 2019, the state unit of the Congress was reluctant to part with any Assembly constituencies but the push for a tie-up has reportedly come from Rahul Gandhi, who has maintained that it will ensure there is no division of votes and give the party its best possible chance to defeat the BJP. 

Differences within the Congress have reportedly delayed its first list of candidates and the BJP has been facing pushback and a rebellion since it did so on Wednesday, with Energy Minister Ranjit Chautala and MLA Lakshman Napa quitting the party after being denied tickets. Mr Chautala has said he will contest as an Independent and Mr Napa has announced that he will be joining the Congress.

Mr Chautala is the son of Chaudhary Devi Lal Chaudhary, one of Haryana’s tallest leaders, who served as chief minister twice and was also a deputy prime minister.

Srinagar:

Aiming to win over the people of Jammu and Kashmir ahead of the Assembly elections, which begin in less than two weeks, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi opted to mix a political pitch with an emotional one while kicking off his party’s campaign in the Union Territory on Wednesday. 

As Jammu and Kashmir sees its first election in nearly 10 years as well as its first as a Union Territory after it was stripped of its special status under Article 370 in 2019, Mr Gandhi made the restoration of statehood the central plank of his addresses on Wednesday while also reminding people of the ties of blood he and his family share with them, going as far back as his great-grandfather and India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. 

Mr Gandhi, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, also took a jibe at the J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha – and the BJP-led government at the Centre through him – by calling him a ‘raja‘ (king). 

The BJP, which will see its campaign begin on Friday with rallies being addressed by Home Minister Amit Shah, hit back and accused the Congress-National Conference alliance in the Union Territory of being supported by militants. 

‘Kings Removed’

Addressing a rally for the Congress candidate from Dooru, Ghulam Ahmad Mir, with National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah, Mr Gandhi cited several decisions that had to be rolled back by the Centre and cited that as proof of the opposition INDIA alliance’s growing strength in the country. This strength, he told his audience, would ensure that Jammu and Kashmir would be granted statehood if the people voted the INDIA alliance into power in the Union Territory.

“In 1947, we removed the kings and formed a democratic government. We gave the country a Constitution. But a raja is ruling Jammu and Kashmir today. His name is LG (lieutenant governor), but he is a raja. Your money is being stolen and given to people from outside. Be that in the form of contracts or anything else… The first thing that needs to be done is restoring statehood to J&K because it wasn’t just your state that was snatched… Your rights, your wealth, all of it is being snatched,” Mr Gandhi said.

Personal Relationship

Addressing another rally in Anantnag, he spoke about the personal ties he has with the people of the state.

“You know that you and I have a blood relation. This is not a political relationship. Be it Rajiv Gandhi, Indira Gandhi or Jawaharlal Nehru, it is an old relationship. Whatever you want from me, my doors are always open for you. I want to serve you in Parliament. I will raise your issues, your pain and your sorrow. The country needs to know that this is the first time in India’s history that a state has become a Union Territory,” he said. 

Mr Gandhi also claimed that the BJP has used the Kashmiri Pandit issue for political reasons and has not helped the community. Using his oft-repeated ‘mohabbat ki dukaan‘ (shop of love) phrase, he asserted that the Congress will stand with the community and work for its welfare if the party forms a government in Jammu and Kashmir.    

‘Difficult Time’

The National Conference is the senior partner of the alliance in the UT, contesting 51 of 90 Assembly seats against the Congress’ 32 – with friendly fights in five constituencies – and party chief Farooq Abdullah said the coalition will be successful in the elections. 

“We are raising our voice. This is a slap on the face of people who called us Pakistanis, Khalistanis and whatnot. I hope that the people of India will understand that we want Jammu and Kashmir and its people to prosper after the difficult time they have been through. This is the first time a state has become a Union Territory. We need to change this, we want statehood, and that’s what we are working towards,” he said.

BJP Hits Back

Scoffing at the remarks by Mr Gandhi and Mr Abdullah, senior BJP leader Ram Madhav said the parties are being supported by militants. The BJP has consistently maintained that J&K has progressed after the removal of Article 370 and Mr Madhav claimed that the Congress, National Conference and Mehbooba Mufti’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) want to push the Union Territory off the path of development. 

“I want to remind the people that the manifestoes released by the National Conference, PDP and others want to take J&K back to the old days and old problems. They are openly taking the support of militants to fight the elections. I am seeing that former militants are supporting, and campaigning for, National Conference and PDP candidates. We have to defeat such parties. Jammu and Kashmir will see a government being formed under the leadership of the BJP,” he said. 

Jammu and Kashmir will vote in three phases between September 18 and October 1. Counting will take place on October 8.