Chandigarh, April 8 (IANS) Haryana's 10 Lok Sabha seats go to the polls Thursday and the outcome will have a bearing on state politics six months later. This election, seen as a semi-final, will dictate the possible course of the Haryana assembly polls to be held in October.
In the general election there is no straight fight between the ruling Congress and the principal opposition, the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD). The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), allied to the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC), the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have made the contest multi-cornered this time.
In 2009, the Congress won nine out of the 10 Lok Sabha seats. The Hisar seat was won by former chief minister Bhajan Lal on behalf of the HJC, his new political outfit.
The Congress, which has ruled the state under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda since March 2005, is certainly not looking at repeating its 2009 performance.
The party has faced a series of desertions in recent weeks. Four of its former leaders, including a MP and a legislator who have quit, have been fielded by the BJP.
Hooda's closest aide and advisor for a decade, former union minister Venod Sharma, too deserted him last month. Sharma tried his best to jump on to the BJP-HJC bandwagon but failed.
Only the Rohtak Lok Sabha seat, represented by Hooda's son Deepender Hooda, is still considered safe for the Congress.
Although Deepender Hooda has been bed-ridden for over a month due to slip disc and has not been able to campaign, the Congress is likely to retain its hold on Rohtak.
The Congress faces an anti-Congress wave due to allegations of large-scale corruption in land deals in Haryana and infighting.
Some party leaders, like Ambala MP and former union minister Selja, a bitter critic of Hooda, opted out of the Lok Sabha race and took the Rajya Sabha route.
While the Congress is fighting with its back to the wall, the INLD has felt the absence of its two top leaders, Om Prakash Chautala and his elder son Ajay Chautala.
Both are in Tihar Jail after their conviction in a teacher recruitment scam by a CBI court in January last year. Even though Abhay Chautala, younger son of the former chief minister, and other leaders have tried their best to keep up the momentum, the party is not on solid ground.
The INLD has fielded Dushyant Chautala, 26, a fourth generation leader of former deputy prime minister Devi Lal's clan, from Hisar.
The concern for the Congress and the INLD is from the HJC-BJP alliance. The BJP, with a limited presence in Haryana, has fielded four turncoats from the Congress in the eight Lok Sabha seats it is contesting.
In Karnal, the BJP brought in a newspaper owner from Delhi as its candidate.
The HJC, led by Hisar MP Kuldeep Bishnoi, is contesting Hisar and Sirsa.
The fourth major party in the fray, AAP, is new in Haryana's Jat-dominated politics.
AAP's top leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Yogendra Yadav, who is the Gurgaon candidate, belong to Haryana.
After the AAP's good showing in Delhi's assembly polls, the party has tried to focus on Haryana. But the AAP has not been able to build up much.
The BSP too has influence in some areas and is mainly cashing on the anti-Dalit image of the Hooda government.
The Lok Sabha polls will show where these parties stand -- vis-a-vis the October assembly polls.
Another great phone launch from Redmi will get the fastest charging battery and 108MP camera
Redmi Note 11 Pro on Amazon: Another great Redmi phone has arrived for those who like Android phones. Redmi Note 11 and Redmi Note 11 S have already been launched in this series and now Redmi Note 11
Congress leaders non-committal on Rahul's return from leave
New Delhi, March 9 (IANS) Over two weeks after the Congress said its vice president Rahul Gandhi was on leave of absence to reflect on the future of the party, there appears no certainty about the
Delhi Assembly Election: War of words lapped on AAP Donations
Crude oil: Crude oil prices at two-week low, OPEC meeting will be held today
Crude oil prices continue to fall. On Tuesday, Brent crude fell 0.8 percent to a July 15 low of $99.26. Investors took caution due to the slowdown in manufacturing and dwindling fuel demand, which saw
Sunanda case: Police to question Tharoor again Thursday
New Delhi, Feb 11 (IANS) Delhi Police chief B.S. Bassi Wednesday said Congress MP Shashi Tharoor would be questioned again Thursday with regard to the murder of his wife Sunanda Pushkar in January
Asia Cup 2023: Ishan Kishan was seen imitating Kohli in the middle of the field, and the star batsman's reaction went viral; Will not stop laughing after watching the VIDEO
Team India's picture was a super hit in the final match of Asia Cup 2023. In the title match, Rohit's platoon defeated Sri Lanka by 10 wickets. With this victory, the Indian team won the Asia Cup
Big Budget Movie: Prabhas's Adipurush has a budget of 500 crores, preparing to release on the biggest worldwide
Big Budget Film: Producer Bhushan Kumar himself has confirmed that his upcoming film Adipurush has a budget of Rs 500 crore. Bhushan is guessing from this that his film will run well due to the
Kannam Rajendran: New CPI Kerala State Secretary
Kottayam (Kerala), March 2 (IANS) After hectic parleys, the central leadership of the Communist Party of India (CPI) on Monday managed to avert a poll to elect its Kerala secretary securing the
Sahara Refund: Till now so many people got stuck money in Sahara, 18 lakh registered on refund portal
Sahara Refund Portal Sahara group's investors have now started getting their money back. Today Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah gave a big gift to those investors. Shah transferred the
Aukus: France got tough and called back its ambassadors from America and Australia
France has announced that it is recalling its ambassadors to the US and Australia to hold discussions. This is being seen as a protest against the security agreement in which Britain is also