In Rohtak, tiptoeing around 36 castes

Hooda faces a stiff test in stronghold

Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda campaigning at Madina village in Rohtak.

Campaigning in the prestigious Rohtak Lok Sabha constituency, held by Deepender Singh Hooda of the Congress since 2004, is a matter of balancing delicate caste equations. More specifically, as the Congress leaders put it, getting the support of 36 biradari (castes), besides the dominant Jats.

The BJP has fielded Arvind Sharma, a Brahmin, who quit the Congress and joined the ruling party weeks before the election.

BJP leaders talk about getting the support of 35 castes, without antagonising the Jats who account for over 30% of the 16 lakh voters. The

biradari talk is a subtle reference to the caste fault lines that have sharpened after the Jat agitation in February 2016, and will have an impact on the May 12 polling.

‘Instigating Jats’

While the Congress talked about building a social coalition of different caste groups once again, the BJP blamed the Congress for “instigating” the Jats to destabilise its government led by Manohar Lal Khattar.

That is why the ruling party has been trying to defeat the father-son duo: former Chief Minister Bhupender Singh Hooda in Sonipat and Mr. Deepender in Rohtak. Rohtak was once considered a fort of the Hooda family, which nurtured the constituency during the Congress’s 10-year rule in the State until 2014. The party now faces its stiffest challenge.

While the BJP is relying on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally next Friday on the Rohtak-Sonipat road to swing the undecided voters, the Congress has scheduled a road how by its general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for Wednesday.

Seeking a fourth term, Mr. Deepender is presented as the MP next door. And to show that he is getting the support of all sections, workers from different parties join the Congress in his presence. “The result of the Rohtak seat will have an impact on the Assembly seat later this year,” he said, as he was getting ready to campaign in the Meham Assembly segment.

At Madina village, which has a mix of Jat and other communities, Congress MLA from Meham Anand Singh Dangi talked about forgetting the past and moving on. “I am your brother, and if there has been any mistake, you should forgive and move ahead once again for development,” he said.

Though there is no visible anti-incumbency wave against Hooda junior, residents do blame him and his father for failing to prevent the violence during the Jat agitation. “We can never forget what had happened during those eight to nine days. Young men armed with guns and knives going around damaging property,” said Phool Singh Sain, a resident of Sampla, 23 km from Rohtak, where the agitation started.

Uniform pattern

The BJP candidate’s campaign follows what has now become a pattern for most candidates of the party in the State: “Elect me to make Narendra Modi Prime Minister again.” The meeting at Kheri Sadh, 10 km from Rohtak, starts with the chants of Bharat Ki Mata Jai , followed by a short speech by Mr. Sharma, who is accompanied by State Agriculture Minister O.P. Dhankar.”

“Modi ji has always worked for the poor, the country’s youth, our sisters and farmers,” the BJP candidate said, reading out from a list of welfare schemes such as the free LPG connection and the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi.

“Deepender does not have anything against him. But people are thinking that even if he wins, the government will be formed by the BJP and the Rohtak MP may not be a powerful voice. That’s why despite being a new candidate from this constituency, Mr. Sharma has an edge. It is certainly going to be a fight,” said Jaiveer Yadav, a businessman from Bahadurgarh.