Rohtak/Dadri/Bhiwani: The Congress party is leaving no stone unturned to win over the people of Haryana as it seeks to dethrone the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 21 October elections.
It’s a towering challenge, according to most analysts and observers, and the Congress has invested massively in its campaign machinery with numerous volunteers, posters, hoardings and autorickshaws being used to spread the word about their candidates.
But the BJP’s election machine seems to have worked its magic in ensuring that the Congress is not seen as a serious alternative, owing to the image of its former president, Rahul Gandhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have been ceaselessly attacking Gandhi, with the latter accusing him of “taking a holiday” right before the elections.
Such words have found an echo with a wide section of Haryana’s electorate, such as Rakesh Goyal, a 26-year-old businessman in Bhiwani. Goyal wants to defeat the Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP government, but says he’ll support the Dushyant Chautala-led Jannayak Janata Party instead of the Congress.
“Why would I vote for Rahul Gandhi?” said Goyal. “He doesn’t know how the average person lives… He should first return from Bangkok and visit a few villages.”
ThePrint’s travels across various districts of Haryana found many voters like Goyal, who see Gandhi as the weak link in the Congress. But his supporters blame the BJP for creating such an image.
Also read: Why some Haryana Congress leaders don’t want Sonia Gandhi to campaign for this candidate
‘Zero’, ‘child’ and ‘son’
In Rohtak, 20-year-old Rishabh Taneja, who is studying BA at the local Hindu College, questioned Gandhi’s abilities, saying he would vote for the BJP despite being convinced that the Khattar government hasn’t done anything in the last five years.
“Who else do I vote for? Rahul Gandhi? He’s a joke,” he said.
Anand Hooda, who runs a small convenience store in former Congress chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s bastion Kiloi, said Gandhi is a “zero”, but added that he would vote for a Hooda-led government anyway.
In Dadri, where Congress candidate Major Nripendra Sangwan (retd) is caught in a four-way battle, Gandhi has become a symbol of indecisive leadership. Ravi Singla, 23, said Gandhi cannot take decisions like Modi can.
“He doesn’t have the ability to take decision in a quick fashion, that’s why I don’t see him as a leader and Congress as an option,” he said, adding he has chosen to support the JJP instead.
Advocate Bhim Singh from Tosham in Bhiwani thinks Gandhi is still “a child”.
“When it came to taking responsibility, he resigned,” Singh said. “Uska abhi bachpana hai, use bolne ka pata nahin (He is childish, doesn’t know what to say).”
But there are a few who also backed Gandhi, such as Sneh Lata, who runs a small clothing store in Kiloi. “I will vote for the Congress party,” she said. “Rahul Gandhi hamara baccha hai (he is like a son).”
Former policeman Ram Singh from Tosham also defended Gandhi.
“I am voting for Rahul Gandhi,” he said. “Other parties always mock their opponents, you look at his work on the ground.”
Also read: Congress’ ex-Haryana unit chief Ashok Tanwar to support Dushyant Chautala in state polls
Bad memories of Hooda’s regime
But Gandhi isn’t the only reason people have turned away from the Congress — its state leaders and MLAs also receive flak, as does Hooda’s 10-year government that ruled from 2004 to 2014. Another factor against the Congress is corruption allegations, something on which people see Khattar as beyond reproach.
Former Army man Rajbir Singh, 56, from Dadri said Hooda’s government didn’t do much for the state and was corrupt.
His views were echoed by Lucky Parutti, a 26-year-old auto driver in Rohtak.
“For years, no one in my family got a government job,” he said. “We are Dalits, and in Hooda’s regime, jobs only went to Jats, or you had to pay for them. Now my sister has a job in a hospital,” he said.
Mahipal, a 35-year-old juice shop owner, said the sitting Tosham MLA and senior Congress leader Kiran Choudhry had done little.
“Why should I vote for Congress?” Mahipal said. “Kiran Choudhry was a minister and still didn’t do anything for us.”
Also read: Gopal Kanda, millionaire debtor & accused in 2 suicides, tries luck in Haryana polls again
BJP won big because of balakot and propaganda around it. Now they want to use 370 removal in the same way, but these are assembly elections, not central govt elections.
Is Rahul contesting in the election in Haryana? How does the question of voting for Rahul arise in Haryana state assembly election?
True there is an image problem and a credibility problem with Rahul Gandhi , but such factors were also present when the MP, Chattisgarh and Rajasthan elections took place. The voting patterns may be more complex than we think.