Abhay faces tough challenge from former aide Beniwal
ELLENEBAD (SIRSA): Three Jat political heavyweights are in a direct contest to gain “chaudhar” of this significant assembly segment of the Bargi belt.
Ellenebad is a Jat-dominated constituency which has been represented by the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) since 2000. The election on this seat is crucial to the Chautala family as party candidate Abhay Singh Chautala won it twice — in 2010 (bypoll) and 2014 elections. Party chief Om Prakash Chautala was elected from this rural seat in 2009.
Ellenabad is adjacent to Rajasthan and was declared a general seat in 2009.
Sensing that this election is crucial to his political survival, Abhay is seeking votes in the name of his father OP Chautala and grandfather late Devi Lal, ex-deputy prime minister. OP Chautala is undergoing jail term in the teachers’ recruitment scam. During his parole from Tihar jail, Chautala spent considerable time addressing villagers of Ellenabad.
Abhay is facing tough competition from his close aide-turned-opponent and BJP nominee Pawan Beniwal. Congress has fielded its seasoned leader Bharat Singh Beniwal.
Pawan used to manage Abhay’s elections campaigns before he joined the saffron party ahead of 2014 elections.
Being a long-time aide of Abhay, the BJP nominee is considered to have been handpicked by party president Amit Shah against the top INLD leader for the second consecutive time.
Bharat is Pawan’s uncle and their families are political rivals.
Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) candidate OP Sihag admits it is tough to penetrate in the stronghold of the Chautala clan.
After arriving two hours late at Arniawali village, Abhay, 54, hits out at the ruling BJP for compromising with the interests of the farming community. He mocks the BJP’s rhetoric of repealing Article 370 and nationalism to gain votes in the state.
“Aade log 302 (murder) aur 307 (attempt to murder) janne sain, (Article) 370 koni. Farmers are being paid lowly for their cotton and bajra crops but the BJP is silent on it,” he says in chaste Bagri dialect at a well-attended gathering of Jat-dominated village.
Abhay flays chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar for easy availability of illegal drugs in Haryana and lack of transport facilities for girl students in Sirsa and other districts. He also blames the BJP for high punitive provisions for traffic offences.
“During the five-year tenure of the BJP, chitta (heroin) has made inroads in Haryana. The illegal drug trade is not possible without political patronage. Construction of SYL Canal, free tubewell connections and improved irrigation infrastructure for south Haryana are among our key election agendas,” he adds, while mentioning contributions of Devi Lal and OP Chautala repeatedly.
“The voters of Ellenabad know whom to vote for. It is our home and its people are family,” he says.
But the Congress nominee and former MLA Bharat Singh Beniwal, 61, says people are ready for a change. His election rally at Chaharwala, near Nathusari Chopta town, invited a sizeable gathering in the evening. Party supporters welcomed Bharat at a temple in a “dhani” and weighed him against apple boxes. Wishing him good luck, apples were distributed as “prashad” among the villagers.
Virender Singh, who runs a public facility centre at the village, says Bharat is popular among villagers. “He is Lalu Prasad Yadav of the Bagri politics. Every time Bharat comes to here, villagers gather enthusiastically to listen to his humorous speeches,” says Singh.
Bharat, who won the erstwhile Darba Kalan assembly segment of Sirsa in 2005, is seeking votes in his rustic Bagri dialect.
“I am like a humble murrah buffalo who will obey the masters (voters). You just make me win this election and get all works done at your village. I am already running ahead of BJP candidate Pawan whereas Billu (nickname of Abhay Chautala) is nowhere in contest. Nevertheless, you ensure to cast vote in my favour,” says Bharat, who according to election papers is literate.
BJP candidate Pawan, 51, is ready to contest for the second consecutive time against his mentor-turned-political foe Abhay. “The INLD has lost the faith of voters in their stronghold due to its arrogant leaders. The BJP regime has rolled improved infrastructural growth of Sirsa district that is known as a political hotbed of the Chautala clan. Accountability, in governance and transparency in government jobs are among key election issues here,” he says in a “nukkad” meeting at Budhi Meri village.
JJP’s OP Sihag says the party is working hard to woo voters. Dushyant Singh Chautala is the real heir of Devi Lal’s political legacy. “Ellenabad is the political bastion of INLD but we are confident to make inroads in the constituency. Dushyant will soon campaign here to the party,” he says.