NEW DELHI, 29 January 2005 — With less than a week left for Haryana, Bihar and Jharkand to go to assembly polls, Congress party President Sonia Gandhi yesterday went out into the political field campaigning in full swing. While Haryana faces one-day polling on Feb. 3, it will be first phase of balloting for Bihar and Jharkhand.
Sonia launched her campaigning yesterday from Naultha in Haryana, the constituency the Congress last won in 1982 when Indira Gandhi campaigned for the party candidate Prasanni Devi.
This time Devi, facing five rivals, is hoping that Sonia’s magic would help her win the seat. Congress has been out of power in Haryana since 1996.
Sonia is counting on the anti-incumbency factor and the dominance of Congress at the center to do well in these elections. Thus as she appealed to the voters for supporting Congress, she also hit out at the state government.
Addressing the voters in Hindia at the Anaj Mandi field in Panipat, she said: “People are fed up of the misrule in Haryana.” Lashing out at the Haryana government for ignoring the common man, she assured the people that the Congress would work for them if returned to power in Haryana.
“The central government needs the cooperation of the state if it has to do something about issues like education and law and order.”
“You brought us to power at the center and now you can do it in Haryana. Your choice is between the Congress and the corrupt regime,” the Congress leader said.
“If the Congress comes to power I promise you it will tackle the state’s backwardness in education, power, drinking water, and other aspects,” said the Congress president, making a direct plea to voters for the 90-member Haryana Assembly.
Sonia, suffering from a mild attack of cold, kept her speech to around 12 minutes. Later, she addressed campaign meetings in Kurukshetra and Rewari. Attacking the Haryana government in Kurukshetra, she said: “The Chautala governement has not functioned with responsibility. There has been no development in the state after the Congress government.”
“If given an opportunity, Congress will specially look after the welfare of the poor and the weaker sections of the society and improve the situation of education, health and law in the state,” she said.
Accompanied by a 40-member campaign team, the Congress leader will address a rally at Bhiwani today.
It is to be seen whether an internal feud within the Congress would prove politically costly for the party in the Haryana polls. Earlier this week, the Congress president had expelled all party rebels who refused to withdraw their nominations to the Haryana Assembly elections. More than a dozen rebels had filed nominations to contest against the party’s official candidates.
Sonia will be in Bihar on Jan. 31 for a three-day campaign. She will be visiting the state for the first time in five years. While hoping that the Congress “magic” will work wonders, Sonia faces a tough task of not annoying her allies in Bihar. Though “allies” at the center, Lalu Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal and Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party are pitted against each other in Bihar polls.
The Congress is contesting 80 of the 243 seats with LJP as its ally. The Congress is facing RJD in 70 seats. Lest the Bihar campaign prove costly at the center, the Congress leader has decided not to directly attack RJD, the ruling Bihar party. On his part, Lalu has announced that he will campaign for Congress in constituencies where RJD is not contesting.
With its feet firmly on ground regarding Bihar politics, the Congress is not counting on sweeping the state polls. However, it is hopeful that even if it manages to win 20 seats, it will be able to play the crucial role of kingmaker in Bihar.
