Haryana’s Kurukshetra is set to witness a triangular contest between newly-inducted Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate industrialist Naveen Jindal, the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Sushil Gupta and the Indian National Lok Dal’s (INLD) Abhay Singh Chautala on Saturday, as the state will be voting for the Lok Sabha this Saturday. Kurukshetra, which is about 150 kilometers from Delhi is a place that holds significant religious significance because it was here where the battle of Mahabharata was believed to be fought.
Jindal who defected from the Congress to BJP in March, had earlier represented the Kurukshetra parliamentary constituency from 2004-2014. However, he lost to BJP’s Raj Kumar Saini in the 2014 national elections and was not fielded by the Congress in 2019. Campaigning at his constituency earlier this month, Jindal said that in the BJP’s Sankalp Patra for Kurukshetra, there is something for all sections of society.
“We made a Sankalp Patra for Kurukshetra. We have met the people here and then made this Patra… This has been made considering the suggestions from people. There is something for all the sections of society,” he said. “We will work for the quality enhancement in the education. We will do development works here like improvement in the health care, providing better sports facilities…We will set up new training sections for the youths which will provide them better opportunities in the future…” he said.
Highlighting further, he assured that the handicapped will also be benefitted. “Our youth won’t go abroad but will be able to secure jobs here. Even if they want to go abroad they will be taken in a proper legal way,” he added. Speaking at a public rally in Haryana’s Kurukshetra on Monday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath described Kurukshetra as a ‘karmbhoomi’ and said, “Kurukshetra is a karmbhoomi and apparently, it is the only land where the armies referred this land as ‘Dharmabhoomi.’ This can happen only in India and that too in Kurukshetra. The war that was fought was fought for dharma, justice, truth, and the result that will come out on June 4 will give a message of Satyamev Jayate.”
Nayab Singh Saini is the outgoing BJP MP from Kurukshetra who replaced Manohar Lal Khattar as the Chief Minister in March. Saini will be contesting the Karnal assembly bypolls on Saturday, the same day as the Lok Sabha polls in the state. Saini won Kurukshetra in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls with a margin of more than three lakh votes against Congress’ Nirmal Singh.
The AAP which is contesting the polls in Haryana, in partnership with the Congress as part of the opposition INDIA bloc has fielded its state president Sushil Gupta from Kurukshetra. Gupta is also one of the richest candidates contesting in this phase. As part of the seat-sharing deal with the Congress, the AAP is contesting from the sole Kurukshetra seat in Haryana and the Congress has fielded candidates in the remaining nine seats in the state.Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who is out on interim bail till June 1, urged voters in Kurukshetra not to get trapped by promises by the BJP and vote just to elect the Prime Minister but to elect an MP who would work for the people during difficult times.
“Don’t make a mistake this time. Don’t get trapped to elect the Prime Minister; vote to elect your MPs. Elect an MP who works for you during tough times,” he said backing Sushil Gupta. Referring to the farmers’ agitation which left its maximum impact in Punjab and Haryana, Kejriwal said that the farmers wanted to go to Delhi but they were stopped at the border.
“The farmers only demanded the right value of money for their crops. When the farmers demanded their rights, they were attacked with tear gas shells. One farmer lost his life. When farmers were being attacked with rubber bullets and water cannons, then the BJP MPs were enjoying it,” he said. He further said that last year crops of Haryana farmers were damaged, and farmers were asking for compensation but no one received it.
“When the unemployed youths were getting beaten by police, then where were the 10 MPs? The Khattar government sent the unemployed youth to Ukraine to die. Sushil Gupta (AAP candidate) understands the pain of the traders. Don’t fall into the trap of electing the Prime Minister. BJP’s 10 MPs don’t have the courage to address the difficulties of farmers and traders,” he added. INLD’s Secretary General Abhay Singh Chautala who is against the BJP and taking on Jindal from Kurukshetra, is being supported by the Shiromani Akali Dal and farmer leader and Sanyukt Sangharsh Party president Gurnam Singh Charuni.
The Haryana BJP underwent a significant change in leadership with the party’s high command removing Manohar Lal Khattar from the post of Chief Minister in March after reports that Dushyant Chautala-led JJP which was part of the ruling government in the state, will be withdrawing its support to the Khattar government. Eventually, the JJP severed its ties with the BJP. On May 7, amid the Lok Sabha polls, the Haryana government suffered another big jolt after three independent MLAs withdrew support from the Nayab Saini government, pushing the dispensation into a minority. However, the BJP appeared confident of retaining power, with former chief minister Khattar claiming that several leaders of the Congress and the JJP were in touch with his party.
Lok Sabha elections in the 10 parliamentary constituencies of Haryana will be held in a single phase on Saturday. The counting of votes will be on June 4. In the 2019 Indian general elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the dominant force in Haryana, securing a landslide victory by winning all 10 parliamentary seats.
