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Monday, Jan 31, 2005

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Sonia's visit makes Chautala nervous

By Rajesh Ahuja

Congress president Sonia Gandhi waves to the crowd after addressing an election rally at Narwana on Saturday. PTI

NARWANA, JAN.30 . Narwana, falling in Jind district of Haryana, has always been regarded as a key constituency but this time it has virtually become a "hot seat'' as the Working President of the Haryana unit of the Congress, Randeep Singh Surjewala, one of the strong contenders for the Chief Ministership, is pitted against his arch rival, the Haryana Chief Minister, Om Prakash Chautala. Till yesterday people were saying that a tough battle would be witnessed here and some even said that the verdict could be a repeat of the 2000 Assembly poll when Mr.Chautala defeated Mr.Surjewala by a narrow margin of about 2,194 votes. However, this time the victor could be either of them, they added. But the tremendous response witnessed at the election meeting in this sub-divisional town yesterday by the All India Congress President, Sonia Gandhi, and the subtle message conveyed in her speech that Mr.Randeep Surjewala would play an important role in the future set-up in the State has boosted the party's campaign forcing Mr.Chautala to personally camp here in a bid to revive his sagging "popularity.''

Till now, the Chief Minister's son and Rajya Sabha MP, Ajay Chautala, was managing his father's campaign. Interestingly, with Mrs. Gandhi's "message'', the supporters of Randeep Surjewala have now started describing him as the next Chief Minister while seeking votes.

In an exclusive interview, Mr.Surjewala told this correspondent that he was conveying Mrs.Gandhi's message to oust the corrupt and anarchistic Chautala Government to the people of his constituency and he expressed hope that the voters would respond fearlessly by exercising their mandate on February 3.

Narwana, basically a rural constituency with about 1,23,315 voters, has been long regarded as the fief of the Surjewala family which has represented this seat four times. Randeep's father, Shamsher Singh Surjewala, won from here in 1977, 1982 and 1991 while Randeep won in 1996 but lost in 2000. Interestingly, the senior Surjewala, who served as Irrigation and Power Minister and Rajya Sabha MP, is contesting this time from the Kaithal Assembly constituency.

According to data, there are about 42,000 Jats, 42,000 Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes, 8,000 Brahmins, 5,000 Mahajans, 2,000 Muslims and 4,000 Sikhs in the constituency which abuts the Punjab border.

According to political observers, it is significant this time that the Jats, who were earlier divided in their support to Mr.Chautala and Surjewala, are now openly tilting towards the latter to "avenge'' their humiliation at the hands of the ruling clan. Interestingly, while the members of Mr.Chautala's family are even apologising publicly for their past "acts of omission and commission,'' this may not be enough to appease the hurt psyche of the Jats in particular. The constituency has become one of the most hyper-sensitive constituencies and para-military forces have already taken up their positions. They also staged a flag march to instil confidence in the voters. Among the other 11 candidates in the fray, Sita Ram Bagri has been fielded by the BJP and Birbal Dass by the Bahujan Samaj Party. However, the main contest is going to be between Mr. Surjewala and the INLD supremo.

The unconditional support extended by the maverick farmer leader, Ghasi Ram Nain, who heads the Haryana unit of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, to Mr.Surjewala has further boosted his prospects especially when the entire state is in the grip of an anti-incumbency wave.

According to his close supporters Mr.Surjewala has "outwitted'' those Jat leaders in the party who were aspiring to become Chief Ministers by taking credit for winning over the support of the farming community, especially Mr.Nain. And the assurance by Mrs.Sonia Gandhi that justice would be done to the farming community who suffered the most during the Chautala regime has further consolidated the position of Mr.Surjewala. The former opponents of the Surjewala clan including Tek Chand Nain, a former MLA, and Gauri Shankar,have also expressed open support for Randeep. While outrightly rejecting the INLD's claim that it provided jobs for almost each family in the constituency and ushered in rapid development, Mr. Surjewala asserts that unemployment is still the biggest problem. Moreover, the area is facing scarcity of irrigation water and absence of proper educational facilities.

Mr.Surjewala has also promised to ensure that the jhuggis and jhonparis of those living below the poverty line will not be demolished. However, the INLD workers are still hopeful that the Chautala magic will work once more and the Chief Minister would win this seat without any difficulty on the basis of developmental activities carried out in the entire region. But according to Ram Prakash, a farmer, the people, though aware that the INLD Government may have taken steps to usher in development, are no mood to forget or forgive the "rude and arrogant style of functioning'' of the powers that be.

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