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.

Kurukshetra:

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini said on Sunday that the Congress is going to be “wiped out” no matter how many alliances it makes for the October 5 Assembly elections.

About the ongoing talks between the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to forge a pre-poll alliance for the upcoming elections, CM Saini said that the two parties are “stuck in the quagmire of corruption” and are serving their “own interests by deceiving the people”.

He said that the BJP is “going to form government in Haryana for the third time with a big mandate”.

Hitting out at the Congress and AAP, CM Saini said that people have realised that “they cannot do good to anyone, neither the state nor the people of the state; they can do good only to themselves”.

About the threat to wrestler Bajrang Punia, who recently joined the Congress, CM Saini said: “We will get it investigated and take action against whoever is found guilty, no one will be spared.”

According to CM Saini, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a rally in Kurukshetra on September 14.

The Haryana CM said that the BJP will release its second list soon and there will be “no change in the tickets of candidates contesting the elections”.

Polling for the elections to the 90-member Haryana Assembly is scheduled to be held on October 5.

The last date of submission for nominations is September 12, while the scrutiny will be conducted on September 13. The last date for withdrawing nominations is September 16.

The ballots will be counted on October 8.

Earlier in the day, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal Khattar also expressed confidence that BJP will form the government for the third consecutive term in the state. The former Haryana CM told reported in Karnal that in the coming days, the state will witness rallies by Prime Minister Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and several Chief Ministers and Ministers.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini today made it clear there will be no change in the candidates’ list announced by the BJP for the assembly election scheduled on October 5.

The Chief Minister’s comment comes after the BJP announced its first list of 67 candidates, following which the party faced protests from minister Ranjit Singh Chautala and MLA Lakshman Dass Napa, who were not given tickets. Both have resigned.

Mr Saini said everyone should put to rest any speculation about tweaks in the candidates’ list. He said everyone wants a ticket, but the “lotus” can be given to only one person.

“It is natural for ticket-seekers to get angry. But they will be persuaded,” the Chief Minister said at a party meeting in Rohtak.

Haryana Energy and Jails Minister Ranjit Chautala, 79, son of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal, said he took a decision after a meeting with his supporters and will now enter the contest as an iIndependent.

Former minister Karan Dev Kamboj also stepped down as the state BJP’s Other Backward Classes (OBC) Morcha chief after he did not get a ticket.

Despite Mr Saini’s attempt to downplay the events, former minister Savitri Jindal, who had quit the Congress and joined the BJP in March, days after her son and industrialist Naveen Jindal had also joined the BJP, said she will fight from Hisar, even as an independent.

After quitting the party, Mr Napa met former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda at his house in Delhi, and later joined the Congress.

“No one has left the party… Karan Dev Kamboj and Lakshman Napa are our senior leaders… we will make them understand,” Mr Saini said.

The BJP is aiming for a hat-trick in Haryana, but faces a tough challenge from a resurgent Congress which is looking to cash in on the anti-incumbency factor.

Mr Saini is the BJP’s chief ministerial face for the assembly polls. The counting of votes for the elections to the 90-member assembly will take place on October 8.

In Gurugram, after Mukesh Sharma was announced as BJP candidate, party leader and aspirant Naveen Goyal revolted and resigned. Mr Goyal, state convener of the BJP’s business cell and head of its environment protection department, has now decided to contest as an independent.

Along with him, more than 150 party officials and workers announced they are leaving the party.

A 10 per cent reservation has been earmarked in police and mining guard jobs for Agniveers, announced Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Wednesday, amid an escalating row over the Agnipath scheme between the Centre and the Opposition.  

The decision comes months before the state goes to polls. 

Launched in 2022, Agnipath scheme provides for short-term induction of personnel into the armed forces. Those in the 17.5-21 years age group are inducted for a four-year period. There is a provision to retain 25 per cent of these recruits for 15 more years. The remaining will be given a financial package as their service comes to an end. Those recruited under the scheme are called Agniveers.

The Chief Minister said that the Congress is spreading propaganda regarding the scheme, adding this is a very good plan of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as it leads to skilled youth.

Mr Saini said that in Group C and D posts, an age relaxation of three years will also be made.

“However, in the first batch of Agniveers, this age relaxation will be five years,” Mr Saini said.  

If a private company pays a salary of Rs 30,000 to an Agniveer, then the government will give an annual subsidy of Rs 60,000 to that company, the Chief Minister said.

The BJP’s tally in Haryana has been halved in this year’s Lok Sabha elections, following the clean sweep in 2019, but the party has reposed its faith in Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and declared that the Assembly elections later this year will be fought under his leadership. Mr Saini had replaced Manohar Lal Khattar, who had been the chief minister of the state since 2014, in March.

Home Minister Amit Shah also announced that the party will go it alone in the upcoming elections. The BJP had formed an alliance with the Jannayak Janta Party after it failed to secure a majority on its own in the 2019 Assembly polls, and Dushyant Chautala had been appointed the deputy chief minister.

The alliance was called off when Mr Saini became the chief minister, reportedly following a disagreement over seat-sharing for the Lok Sabha polls.

Addressing BJP leaders and workers after a meeting of the party’s extended state executive in Panchkula on Saturday, Mr Shah said in Hindi, “Remove all doubts from your mind, we will not go with anyone (in an alliance for the upcoming elections). We don’t need any crutches. We will form a BJP government with a full majority. We will earn the trust of voters in Haryana under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nayab Singh Saini.”

Nayab Singh Saini, 54, is an influential figure within the OBC, or Other Backward Classes, community and was a Lok Sabha MP before taking over the top job in the state. 

Mr Khattar, who is now a Union Minister, was present at the party meeting, which was also attended by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who is the BJP’s election in-charge for Haryana and the co-incharge, Biplab Kumar Deb, among others.

The upcoming elections in Haryana will be crucial for the BJP, especially because it won only five of the state’s 10 Lok Sabha seats after sweeping all of them in 2019. Along with Maharashtra and Jharkhand, which will also see Assembly polls this year, it will be an opportunity for the party to prove that it remains popular with voters after failing – for the first time in 10 years – to achieve a majority on its own in the general elections.

In Haryana, the BJP faces a challenge from the Congress, which has been buoyed after bagging the remaining five Lok Sabha seats in the state. The ruling party’s former ally, the Jannayak Janta Party, has also announced that it will support the Congress in the Rajya Sabha poll, the date for which is yet to be declared. One seat in the Upper House from the state has been vacated by Congress leader Deepender Singh Hooda, who has been elected as an MP from the Rohtak Lok Sabha seat. 

Mr Chautala has ruled out an alliance with the BJP and said the JJP will take feedback from its workers and then decide whether it will partner with any other party.   

Chandigarh:

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Friday called Punjab his state’s “elder brother” and urged it to share water from the Ravi and Beas through the Sutlej Yamuna link (SYL) canal.

He made the suggestion while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of his visit to the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Earlier in the day, he also visited the Radha Soami Satsang in Beas and met the sect’s chief, Gurinder Singh Dhillon, at his residence.

While Haryana has built its portion of the canal, Punjab is reluctant to complete the stretch in its territory, saying it has no water to spare.

Speaking to reporters on the SYL canal issue, Saini said, “Punjab is our elder brother, and it is the duty of the elder brother not to let the younger brother be disappointed.”

He also stressed the familial bond between Punjab and Haryana, stating, “Punjab-Haryana is one family and I appeal to our elder brother to share water with us.”

Recently, after the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi accused Haryana of not releasing the national capital’s share of water, Mr Saini maintained that Haryana is releasing water to the city over and above the agreed-upon quantity.

Mr Saini had then said that there is also an AAP government in Punjab, and they should ask Punjab to give SYL canal water so that Haryana’s water shortage can be overcome and Delhi can also get more water.

During his visit to the Golden Temple, Mr Saini partook of ‘langar’ and offered “sewa” (voluntary service) by washing utensils.

The Gurudwara Committee presented him a ‘siropa’ (robe of honour), the statement said.

Speaking to reporters after paying obeisance at the Golden temple, Mr Saini said, “Today, I have found great peace of mind by visiting the holy city Amritsar”.

We should pledge to follow the path shown by the Gurus, Mr Saini said, adding that he prayed for the happiness and prosperity of the people of the state and the country.

“The sacrifice of our Sikh Gurus for the protection of the nation and religion is embedded in every particle of this holy land, which inspires the entire country to serve the nation,” he said in a post on X.

According to an official statement, the Haryana chief minister’s visit to Radha Soami Satsang at Beas was a “courtesy” meeting.

“Met Baba Gurinder Singh Dhillon Ji, the spiritual head of Radha Soami Satsang Beas. Under his able leadership, RSSB has been at the forefront of many community service efforts. On this occasion, received guidance from Baba Gurinder Ji on various spiritual and social issues,” Mr Saini said in another post on X in Hindi.

He later visited the Ram Tirth temple near Amritsar city.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Rohtak (Haryana):

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini hit back at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal amid the row over the water crisis in the national capital. He said the state is providing its complete quota of water to Delhi and the Aam Aadmi party government is “spreading lies” to hide its own “corruption.”

Addressing a press conference on Saturday, chief minister Saini said, “Mr Kejriwal made this allegation earlier also. I want to ask him to pay less attention to corruption and more to development. Haryana is providing more water than was decided in the agreement made at the court’s order. Haryana is providing more water than agreed.”

“But just for their politics, for hiding their corruption, he (the Delhi chief minister) is spreading lies. This is the nature of Arvind Kejriwal,” he added.

Taking a jibe at the Delhi government, Mr Saini said that the AAP government couldn’t build proper infrastructure for water, as it was busy with “corruption.”

“He (Mr Kejriwal) failed to build a proper water system because his full focus was on corruption…the court also slammed the Delhi government and said the Haryana government is providing their quota of water,” he said.

Meanwhile, Delhi continues to battle a severe water crisis amid rising temperatures in the National Capital.

Earlier on Friday, the Delhi government approached the Supreme Court to get immediate additional water from neighbouring Haryana.

Delhi government in its plea said that it is constrained to file the petition on account of the acute shortage of water being faced by the people of Delhi, triggered by the ongoing severe heat conditions in North India, particularly in the national capital.

Several areas in Delhi, including Chanakyapuri’s Sanjay Camp area and the Geeta colony area are among those facing acute water shortages. In the blazing heat, people have to wait in long queues to fill buckets from water tankers.

The residents have complained that, despite submitting applications to the government regarding water shortage, their pleas go unnoticed.

The Haryana chief minister further said that they are probing the allegations of discrepancies and incidents of ‘bogus voting’ during polling in the state

He also said the whole report of BJP leaders who were allegedly working against the party’s interest will be sent to the central leadership.

“We called a meeting with all the district in-charges yesterday, the other position holders, and other leaders. We are collecting all the information…whatever will be found, whoever has done the whole report will be sent to the central leadership. Whatever decision will be taken by them, will have to be followed by everyone,” chief minister Saini said.

“The officers who have committed discrepancies, made attempts of bogus voting, tried to spoil the atmosphere. Whichever booths are found involved in this, we will take action against the involved officers,” he added.

The 10 seats of Haryana voted on May 25 in the sixth phase of polling. The counting of votes will be done on June 4.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Chandigarh:

In the middle of the Lok Sabha election, dramatic developments have reduced the BJP-led state government to a minority in Haryana Assembly. The Congress is now racing against time to make the most of the situation and cobble together the numbers required to topple the Nayab Singh Saini government months before state polls.

Behind the crisis is the decision of three Independent MLAs to switch from the BJP camp to the Congress side last evening. MLAs Sombir Sangwan (Dadri), Randhir Singh Gollen (Pundri) and Dharampal Gonder (Nilokheri) announced their decision to withdraw support to the BJP government at a press meet in Rohtak yesterday. They were accompanied by Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Congress’s Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and state Congress chief Udai Bhan.

Addressing the media, Mr Hooda said, “The government should resign. President’s rule should be imposed in the state and elections held. This is an anti-people government.”

Chief Minister Saini, who took over the top post just about two months back, had a guarded response. “When I heard about it, I knew that moment the Congress is trying to fulfil their wishes. Everyone has a wish. But the people know. They know the Congress has got nothing to do with the wishes of people, but is only focused on fulfilling their wishes,” he said. The Chief Minister did not elaborate on how the BJP plans to counter the threat to its government.

In a significant remark, Haryana Speaker Gian Chand Gupta has said a majority test had earlier been conducted on the demand of Mr Hooda and there is no need to conduct another for six months. The Nayab Singh Saini government cleared a trust vote soon after he took over in March.

The JJP Factor

Adding a twist to the Haryana political upheaval, the BJP’s former ally Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) has offered support to the Congress. JJP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala has said the government has lost the trust of the people. “We will support a move to bring down the government. The Congress has to decide if it will make a move or not,” he said. This comes less than two months after the BJP parted ways with JJP, which has 10 MLAs, and cobbled together enough numbers to cross the majority mark.

How The Numbers Stack Up

The 90-seat Haryana Assembly currently has 88 members. This means the majority mark is 45. The BJP has 40 MLAs of its own and is supported by three out of 6 Independent MLAs. This makes it 43, two short of the magic figure. The Congress has 30 legislators and three Independents now support it. If the JJP backs it, the Congress will have the support of 43 MLAs. This leaves two MLAs — one from Haryana Lokhit Party and the other from INLD.

The Chautala Family Factor

An interesting subplot playing out amid the Haryana government crisis is linked to the Chautala clan that once dominated the state’s political landscape before a string of poll setbacks, convictions and a split reduced INLD to a one-man party in the Assembly. Currently, INLD general secretary Abhay Chautala is the party’s lone MLA in the Assembly. Now that the JJP, led by Mr Chautala’s estranged nephew Dushyant Chautala has offered support to the Congress, the question is will Abhay Chautala remain on the same side or join ranks with BJP.

New Delhi:

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini today gave a cryptic message amid a potential crisis in the BJP government after three independent MLAs announced they have withdrawn support to the BJP government.

The three MLAs – Sombir Sangwan, Randhir Gollen and Dharampal Gonder – claimed the Haryana government is in a minority now and the state elections should be held soon. They said they will support the Congress in the election.

Mr Saini, however, dismissed the situation as nothing alarming.

“When I heard about it, I knew that moment the Congress is trying to fulfil their wishes. Everyone has a wish,” Mr Saini said.

“But the people know. They know the Congress has got nothing to do with the wishes of people, but only with fulfilling their personal wishes,” he said.

The Chief Minister did not explain how the BJP plans to counter this new threat.

Congress leader and former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said the BJP has no right to continue in power in Haryana as the government is in minority now.

“Keeping in mind the sentiments of the public, the MLAs supported the Congress, thanks to all the three independents,” Mr Hooda told reporters.

“Along with the public, those who voted and supported BJP are unhappy with this government. The BJP should immediately dissolve the government and face the assembly elections,” the Congress leader said.

The three independent MLAs made the announcement at a press conference ion Rohtak in Mr Hooda and state Congress chief Udai Bhan’s presence.

“We have taken this decision on various issues including those related to farmers,” Mr Gonder said.

The state Congress chief said the present strength of the 90-member assembly is 88, of which the BJP has 40 members. “The BJP government earlier had the support of JJP MLAs and independents, but the JJP had also withdrawn support and now independents are leaving,” Mr Bhan said.

“Nayab Singh Saini government is now a minority government. He should resign as he does not have the right to stay even for a minute,” Mr Bhan said.

Chandigarh:

In a setback to the ruling BJP in Haryana amid the Lok Sabha elections, three Independent MLAs today announced that they have withdrawn their support to the Nayab Singh Saini-led government in the state.

The three MLAs – Sombir Sangwan, Randhir Gollen and Dharampal Gonder – also said that they have decided to extend support to the Congress during the elections.

They made the announcement at a press conference held in Rohtak in presence of former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and state Congress chief Udai Bhan.

“We are withdrawing support to the government. We are extending our support to the Congress,” Mr Gonder said.

“We have taken this decision on various issues including those related to farmers,” he said.

Speaking at the presser, Udai Bhan said, “The three Independent MLAs – Sombir Sangwan, Randhir Singh Gollen and Dharampal Gonder – have withdrawn their support to the BJP government and extended their support to the Congress.”

“I also want to say that present strength of (90-member) Haryana Assembly is 88, of which the BJP has 40 members. The BJP government earlier had support of JJP MLAs and Independents, but JJP had also withdrawn support and now Independents are also leaving.

“Nayab Singh Saini government is now a minority government. He should tender his resignation as he does not have right to stay even for a minute,” said Mr Bhan.

Now, the assembly polls should be held immediately, he said.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)