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Friday, Apr 30, 2004

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National - Elections 2004

Q & A : Bansi Lal

'No Vajpayee wave in Haryana'

The Haryana Vikas Party leader and former Haryana Chief Minister, Bansi Lal, is still a force to reckon with in the State. Mr. Bansi Lal, who served as the Defence Minister during the rule of Indira Gandhi, still holds her in high esteem. However, he has strong views regarding Sonia Gandhi and says he will support the Congress only if Ms. Gandhi relinquishes her claim to become Prime Minister. Excerpts from his interview with Rajesh Ahuja:

The Haryana Vikas Party is contesting all the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana. How do you rate the party nominees' prospects?

We will win as there is a potent anti-incumbency factor working against the Indian National Lok Dal regime headed by Om Prakash Chautala. People don't want to listen to Mr. Chautala. And the Congress in Haryana is a divided house. So the people will vote for the HVP nominees. Everybody in Haryana knows that during my stints as Chief Minister, I undertook massive development works and the people realise this. Moreover, we have fielded superior candidates and we took the lead in announcing our nominees even before the other parties.

Your son, Surender Singh, is embroiled in a triangular fight with the sons of Mr. Chautala and Bhajan Lal. How do you rate his prospects in Bhiwani?

Surender has already completed the third round of campaigning and is far ahead than the other nominees. I fear that Mr. Chautala wants to instigate violence in the constituency but the people will not allow it at any cost. There is no Vajpayee wave in Haryana and the Congress is in a better position than the BJP while the INLD is facing a strong anti-incumbency factor. And the BJP has fielded an outsider, Ram Bilas Sharma, from here. Let me tell you that Mr. Sharma approached the Brahmin community here seeking votes but they "refused to oblige him." Even a young child knows that I transformed Bhiwani and these factors will help my son.

Do you think there will be early Assembly elections in Haryana?

Yes, the Chautala Government is going to fall soon after the Lok Sabha polls and the Vidhan Sabha polls will be held sometime this year. And the HVP will form the next Government in the State as we have strengthened our grassroots in all the 90 Assembly constituencies. Moreover, all sections of society are groaning under the `misrule' of the present Government. Large-scale looting is going on and even the traders and farmers are feeling suffocated. Corruption has become paramount. The INLD MLAs too are feeling demoralised and they will pull down the present dispensation.

There were indications that the HVP could revive its relations with the BJP especially after the latter broke off all ties with the INLD. But this did not materialise...

The BJP's national leaders made several efforts in this direction. But I cannot forget that the BJP pulled down my Government when it had entered into its fourth year ... There is no question whatsoever of reviving ties with that party.

You played a prominent role in national politics in the past. What is your assessment about the coming polls? Which party will you support?

There is confusion on the national scene. There are indications that both the BJP and the Congress could get a lesser number of seats than they got in the 1999 polls and only God knows what combinations and permutations will come into force. So far as the HVP is concerned, we will support that dispensation that gives a special package for Haryana. So long as Sonia Gandhi is the prime ministerial candidate, there is no question of supporting the Congress. However, if the Congress projects somebody else as the Prime Minister, we would have no hesitation in supporting it.

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