Haryana assembly election, Campaign ends

way2barak, Oct 3: With campaign for the October 5 assembly elections for the 90-member assembly drawing to a close, the stage is set for an interesting contest that will decide the fate of the two contenders.

Both the BJP and the Congress went all out with a very aggressive campaign to woo the people of Haryana. While the BJP is banking on its development report card of 10 years, the Congress is trying to capitalise on anti-incumbency and on issues like the farmers protest and the Agnipath Scheme – which provides short-term recruitment in armed forces.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who led the BJP campaign, is confident that the Congress will fall flat on October 8 when the votes are counted. In a post on X, PM Modi said that he has observed the enthusiasm and support for the BJP after travelling all over the state.

“The enthusiasm I have seen among the people gives me full confidence that the people of Haryana will once again give their blessings to the BJP. The patriotic people of Haryana will never accept the divisive and negative politics of the Congress,” the Prime Minister said.

The Congress campaign on the other hand focussed on issues of alleged misgovernance by former chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who led the BJP government in the state for almost 9 and a half years. BJP removed Khattar ahead of Lok Sabha elections and made Nayab Singh Saini the chief minister.

Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Priyanka Gandhi addressed several rallies in the state but at the centre of Congress’s campaign was senior leader and former state chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on which the party has placed all its bets. The move led to discontent within the party ranks with senior leader and prominent dalit face Kumari Selja staying away from most part of the campaign.