Poll battle intensifies in Haryana as BJP eyes Surjewala’s Kaithal seat
BJP CHIEF LAST WEEK CHOSE KAITHAL IN NORTHWESTERN HARYANA TO ADDRESS HIS FIRST RALLY AHEAD OF THE STATE POLLS
KAITHAL (HARYANA): Union home minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah last week chose Kaithal in nort hwestern 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 spokesperson, 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 nati on, one Constitution” plank.
Gurjar has stepped up the attack. “Woh [Surjewala] deshdrohi hai [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”.
He spoke about the development works he and his father, Shamsher Singh Surjewala, have carried out as the representatives of Kaithal for the last 15 years.
Harishchandra Punjabi, a local businessman, acknowledged that Surjewala has done a lot for infrastructure development and helped improve lawand-order. Another resident, Subhash Kalka, echoed Punjabi and added that Surjewala had vision for the development of the city, which he has “implemented”. “Roads are good and even villages have drainage systems,” he said.
The Congress communication department secretary Vinit Punia said that Gurjar’s comments showed that the BJP has nothing to offer despite being in power for five years in Haryana.
Ranveer Parashar, a local journalist and political analyst, called the campaign for the 2019 assembly polls in Kaithal the most bitter of all.
“Never before, have I heard the language that is being used here. The Congress is accusing the BJP candidate of harbouring criminals whereas the BJP is calling Surjewala anti-national.”