Jind bypoll is a matter of prestige for Surjewala, Khattar and Chautala brothers

File image of Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala | Facebook

Jind bypoll is not just another poll. It could change the narrative of Haryana’s politics in a crucial election year.

Chandigarh: The Jind byelection in Haryana, to be held on 28 January, isn’t just another assembly bypoll. It is a high-stakes prestige battle for many political players.

Here’s why.

Enter Surjewala

The choice of Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s close aide Randeep Singh Surjewala, national spokesperson and Congress MLA from Kaithal, for the constituency has made this otherwise innocuous contest interesting.

It also has the potential to upset the return of Congress leader and former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda to the centrestage of politics in Haryana.

If Surjewala wins, it will put him in pole position for selection as the Congress’ chief ministerial candidate in the assembly polls later this year. The elections give Surjewala a chance to showcase his popularity as a mass leader.

Surjewala is a Jat — almost 30 per cent of the electorate comprises Jats in Jind.

Traditionally, the Jat votebank has backed the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and the seat has been the party’s pocket borough since 2005.

Surjewala is campaigning as a “sabka pratyashi” — universal candidate — keeping in view the non-Jat electorate, specially the Punjabi and Baniya communities, both of which reportedly back the BJP.

To woo the Dalit vote, Surjewala is banking heavily on Congress state chief Ashok Tanwar, the party’s top leader from the community in the state.

Tanwar has been involved in an ugly, internecine battle with Hooda for the leadership of the party over the past five years — now he has an opportunity to prove his mettle and show that he can consolidate the Jat vote behind him.

In choosing Surjewala, Rahul has sent a clear message to other Congress leaders, including Kiran Chaudhary and Hooda, to start working together. While Chaudhry has already campaigned for Surjewala, sources in Hooda’s camp say he will campaign in Jind too.

What goes against Surjewala is the growing perception that he is a “reluctant” candidate and that his own partymen will work against him.

Also, opposition party candidates have raised questions about his sailing in two boats.

“If Surjewala wins, will he be contesting the next assembly elections from Kaithal or Jind?” asked a Jind voter.

Chautala vs Chautala

The election is the first test for the newly created Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), a breakaway faction of the INLD formed after the party’s split last month over differences between chief Om Prakash Chautala’s two sons, Ajay and Abhay.

The JJP, created by Ajay Chautala, has announced the candidature of his younger son Digvijay Singh for the bypoll. Ajay’s elder son Dushyant Chautala is a sitting MP.

Om Prakash Chautala, who is in the jail along with Ajay following their conviction in a teachers’ recruitment scam, supports Abhay and the INLD candidate, Umed Singh Redhu.

With both sides claiming to be the rightful inheritors of former Deputy Prime Minister Chaudhary Devi Lal’s legacy, a win for either side will set the stage for the future of the INLD in the coming elections.

Dushyant is already a popular youth Jat leader and if his brother is able to win the seat, it could seal INLD’s fate.

BJP looks for sympathy vote

To exploit the sympathy factor, the ruling BJP has fielded Krishan Middha, son of former INLD legislator Hari Chand Middha, whose death in August necessitated the bypoll.

For the BJP, this bypoll seemed to be a cakewalk till Surjewala’s candidature was announced.

Now the bypoll is almost a straight fight between the BJP and the Congress. An electoral loss here will cost the BJP, in terms of public perception and party morale, ahead of this year’s Lok Sabha and assembly elections.

The Jind bypoll is also a micro test of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s state government. The BJP is currently riding high following its victory in five municipal bodies.

However, Middha enters the fray as a turncoat candidate — he shifted from the INLD to the BJP just a few months ago.

Although his father was a well-respected INLD leader, the late Hari Chand Middha’s votebank may not automatically shift to the BJP.