Page 49 - 31JAN2018E

politics

former Chief Minister Bhupinder Sin- the Jind by-elections will be beneficial mance in the by-election will also set
gh Hooda in case he gets further em- in two ways. First it will boost the mo- the future course of direction for both
broiled in court cases in the election rale of the party workers before the the parties.
year and fails to contest poll. Lok Sabha elections. Secondly it will The Jats have a majority in the Jind
Surjewala has a clean image. There give a clear message to the ruling BJP in assembly constituency. Out of the total
are no court cases dogging him. He Haryana that it cannot take victory for 1,69,000 voters, there are 56000 Jats,
could be the next chief minister also if granted. 14000 Baniaas, 32,000 Dalits, 20,000
the Congress wins majority in the as- Meanwhile the Jannayak Janta Party Brahmins, 23,000 Punjabis and around
sembly elections later this year. How- (JJP), which was launched last month af- 24,000 others. The BJP has fielded a
ever, it is also a double-edged sword ter a split in the main opposition INLD, Punjabi candidate, while the INLD, Con-
and his loss will hit his image hard, announced its youth leader Digvijay gress and JJP have fielded a Jat.

Rallying support With Surjewala in the fray, the Jind by-election has
become an interesting battle three months before the Lok Sabha polls

much to the chagrin of his detractors in Singh Chautala to be the party’s can- The by-election would be also be an
the party. didate for the Jind by-election. The opportunity for both the INLD and the
One of the tallest Jat leaders from the INLD has fielded Umedh Singh Redhu JJP to show their strength in the state
Congress, Surjewala, in the last one year for the poll. Incidentally the Jind by- politics, specially against each other in
has remained in prominence and held election would be an opportunity for particular. They also say the Jind poll
public rallies almost once a week. both the INLD and the JJP to show their would help INLD workers and support-
By reposing faith in Surjewala the strength ahead of the Lok Saba and Vid- ers to settle the dilemma about whom
Congress is testing his popularity in han sAbha elections later this year. This to vote for — the INLD or the JJP. Vote
the state and preparing him for further would also provide an opportunity to percentage for the two parties will
battles ahead against the BJP and other the workers of both the parties to set- therefore be very crucial.
parties. tle the dilemma which party they want
The Congress feels that a victory in to remain with in future. The perfor- letters@tehelka.com

Tehelka / 31 january 2019 49 www.Tehelka.com