Haryana Diary: Rohtak is the campaign trail stop for Deepender Hooda

Rohtak: The BJP nominees are profiting from the delay in announcing the Congress candidates for the nine Lok Sabha seats in the state since their marketing is slanted and lacks a counter narrative from any significant players in the election battlefield. The parliamentary seat of Rohtak is an anomaly, however.

Deepender Hooda, the Congress politician and member of the Rajya Sabha, has not waited for an official declaration of his candidacy; instead, his campaign has been underway in this area. Having learned from his loss in the last Lok Sabha elections, Deepender is unwilling to fall behind the BJP in terms of campaigning.

Families step up their campaigning for politicians.

Kurukshetra: Family members of candidates have begun campaigning and hosting rallies in Kurukshetra as the General Election approaches. While Arjun Chautala, the son of INLD candidate Abhay Chautala, engaged in active campaigning for his father in the last Lok Sabha election from Kurukshetra, Savitri Jindal has been hosting gatherings and going to party functions in support of her son Naveen Jindal, the BJP nominee. According to a BJP senior, when a family member runs for office, it gives the campaign a more intimate feel and guarantees the candidate’s presence—even if it is only via a proxy.

Why was Saini chosen over the ‘popular’ Khattar?

Yamunanagar: The principal guest at the BJP’s Vijay Sankalp rally on Saturday in Sadhaura town of Yamunanagar district was principal Minister Nayab Singh Saini. A number of prominent party figures, including Banto Kataria, the BJP candidate for the Ambala Lok Sabha seat, spoke at the gathering in addition to the chief minister. The majority of the rally speakers praised former Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar and emphasized his contributions to the state’s development. Some political elites in the area questioned why Saini took over as chief minister in lieu of Khattar, given his high level of popularity. They stated that because he was the CM, the party ought to have gone on.

BJP employees find Khattar’s jab at former chief ministers perplexing.

Hisar: previous chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s jab at previous chief ministers Bansi Lal, Bhajan Lal, and Om Prakash Chautala has left BJP members perplexed in addition to political analysts. “Such remarks are uncalled for during a hectic campaign for the Lok Sabha elections,” a BJP staffer said.

Another party employee said that even though Khattar took a number of actions while serving as chief minister, he ought to have avoided controversy at this particular time. In an attempt to patch things up, Khattar said that he used to meet with the outgoing chief ministers and give them advice on introducing openness. Subsequently, Khattar claimed to know that the corruption in the state was hurting Bhajan Lal.