BJP’s game plan to wrest Surjewala’s seat

KAITHAL (HARYANA): Union home minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah last week chose Kaithal in northwestern Haryana to address his first rally ahead of the October 21 polls in the state. Union ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and Krishan Pal Gurjar have since followed suit, underscoring Kaithal’s importance to the BJP as it seeks to wrest the constituency from the Congress’ Randeep Singh Surjewala.

From Shah to local BJP candidate Lila Ram Gurjar, the ruling party has picked on Surjewala, the Congress’s chief spokesper son, over his comments on issues such as the nullification of Article 370. Shah described the Centre’s move to revoke the special status of Jammu & Kashmir as “historic”, and called Surjewala the face of the Congress’s opposition to the ruling party’s “one nation, one Constitution” plank.

Gurjar has stepped up the attack. “Woh [Surjewala] deshhai [is anti-national],” Gurjar, a former legislator who joined the BJP in 2014, told a gathering as he canvassed in the constituency on Sunday. “See this video,” Gurjar added, pointing to his mobile phone as he played Surjewala’s purported comments on Article 370.

Gurjar insisted that Surjewala opposed the removal of Article 370, and the Congress would reintroduce it if it returned to power at the Centre. “You would have also heard his [Surjewala] comments on the [February 14] Pulwama [attack on a paramilitary convoy in Kashmir] and Balakot [India’s retaliatory air strike in pakistan],” Gurjar said, not specifying what the comments were.

Surjewala, who is seeking his third term from Kaithal, has sought to counter BJP’s attacks by calling Gurjar’s tenure as an Indian National Lok Dal MLA from Kaithal between 2000 and 2005 an “era of criminal terror”.

“Do not forget the period between 2000 and 2005, when Lila Ram was our MLA. The city was not safe for anyone after dark,” Surjewala told a gathering on Sunday.

Surjewala called himself a “wall against fear” in his speech that was mostly dedicated to Gurjar’s tenure. He spoke about the development works he and his father, Shamsher Singh Surjewala, have carried out for the last 15 years.

AMIT SHAH LAST WEEK CHOSE KAITHAL IN NORTHWESTERN HARYANA TO ADDRESS HIS FIRST RALLY AHEAD OF THE STATE POLLS