Barala faces stiff challenge from moneybag Babli
There are a total 20 candidates, including nine independents, in the fray on the seat dominated by Jats and Jat-Sikh voters
Both Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress camps in Tohana assembly segment of Fatehabad district are edgy about Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) nominee Devender Singh Babli.
Whether school-going toddlers or elderly rural women, voters of urban belts or farmers, Babli’s name bubbles up effortlessly, and with grace, in every nook and corner of this constituency. But voters are unsparing at the mere mention of Haryana BJP president and sitting MLA Subhash Barala and hurl a mouthful.
Not just this, staunch BJP and Congress workers accept popularity of Babli, a stinking rich businessman famous for ‘spending money’ on people with an eye on political gains. Whether this fame of Babli, 49, will translate into votes on October 21 is the favourite pastime topic of discussion among the seasoned “hooked- to-the-hookah” men of Tohana.
And the soft-spoken Congress candidate, Paramvir Singh, 64, a former two-term MLA and LLB from Delhi University, seems to have resigned to his fate. He heaved a sigh of relief after party stalwart Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s October 15 rally at Smain, the biggest village of Tohana. “Now people will forget Babli. This rally will burst Babli’s bubble,” Hooda told HT, accepting the pro-Babli tilt of the electorate. “Now, the fight is between Congress and the JJP here,” he said.
Similarly, Barala too accepts Babli as his key rival. Both Barala and Babli hail from Bidhai Kheda village.
In the 2014 assembly election, Barala, 52, got 49,462 votes, Babli, who studied up to secondary level, bagged 38,282 votes as an independent, Paramvir Singh managed 33,111 votes and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) nominee bagged 42,556 votes.
Local political analysts say there are bright chances of INLD’s Jat vote bank shifting towards the JJP. And ex-MP Dushyant Chautala, who is the face of the JJP, carries a good reputation among the Jat voters in the hinterland.
Hence, the contest is shaping up to be too close to call.
There are total 20 candidates, including nine independents, in the fray and low-profile candidates such as Baljit Bouddh of Bahujan Samaj Party, Rajpal Saini of INLD and Ajay Kumar of AAP, who have their own pockets of influence. In this backdrop, Tohana is witnessing a keenly contested multi-cornered tussle.
As less than 24 hours are left for the campaigning to end, hectic lobbying is on to woo voters of different communities and castes. What, however, must be a cause for concern for BJP’s Barala is the simmering anger among the voters.
“Barala to sidde mooh naa bolle... Barala ghamandi, Babli maata kaa bhakt...,” says Shamsher, a Jat, of Jandli Kalan village. This is the common grouse of voters against Barala. “Barala to ahankaari (conceited) hai,” says a priest of temple at Smain as Mahavir of Kanheri interjects: “Barala became arrogant after becoming an MLA. He was out of reach of common people. Now wait .... people will take revenge. They will teach Barala a lesson.”
Barala, however, dismisses what people say as noise of busybodies.
“First, my rivals tried to label me as corrupt and they failed. Then they tried every trick to tarnish my reputation. They again failed. When people start calling you arrogant that is the sign of their frustration and desperation. This is their last weapon,” Barala, sitting at BJP’s Tohana office after a tiring daylong campaign, said.
“Kuch to log kahenge...My development oriented work speaks for myself,” he says philosophically, expressing dismay when asked why people call him “ahankaari.”
Why Babli is such a celebrity in Tohana? “Motta paisa hai (he has deep pockets),” Barala says.
This “motta paisa” hint about money prowess of Babli finds mention in every impromptu discussion.
During a heated discussion at Smain helipad, Randhir refers to Babli as “tagdi firm” who “distributes money among the needy, gives notebooks to students and donate money for religious activities and for wedding of girls”.
“Saare pooche eh Babli ke cheej hai,” Satbir quips and Ramphal pitches in: “Samaaj sevi hai Babli, aur ke. Barala to jaa liya”. “Barala ghamandi hai, Babli paissa bantata hai,” Randhir says. At this Basau Ram, who has come to meet Hooda at helipad, angrily says: “Jeete naa Baabbli...hawa hi hawa hai.”