Though the campaign for the high-stakes Jind by-election in Haryana, necessitated due to the death of Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) MLA Hari Chand Middha in August last, gathered pace on Sunday with the candidates holding closed-door parleys to make strategies and going for door-to-door campaign, the contest seems to be wide open with caste equations going awry following the entry of Congress’ communications’ in-charge and Kaithal MLA Randeep Singh Surjewala.
What was earlier tipped to be a direct fight between the Bharatiya Janata Paty and the newly formed Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), with the latter having a clear edge, and the Congress being at distant number four, could now be a photo finish with a close contest between the three parties.
Hoping to romp home with the overwhelming support of the Jats — the Jind Assembly constituency has around 1.7 lakh electorate with around 30% Jats, the JJP — formed after the split in INLD in December last — has certainly been harmed with the candidature of Mr. Surjewala, also a Jat.
Another Jat candidate INLD’s Umed Redhu is also likely to cause a dent in the Jat vote further reducing the share of the Congress and the JJP.
Though trying to reach out to the urban non-Jat voters beyond its traditional Jat constituency by promising better infrastructure and development in the sleepy town, the JJP is unlikely to find speedy acceptance, especially with the organisational set-up still in its infancy.
BJP’s masterstoke
Political analysts have questioned the choice of candidate by the ruling BJP, which has fielded Krishan Middha, a “Punjabi”, contending that a “baniya” could have been a better bet appealing to both the communities alike.
Mr. Middha is the son of late MLA Hari Chand Middha.
The party’s prospects are also marred by dissidents, not happy with the party offering ticket to turncoat Mr. Middha, who quit INLD to join the saffron party a few months ago, over old-time party workers. The “baniya” vote, around 7 % of the total electorate, is now likely to drift towards the Congress, harming the interests of the party in a keenly-fought poll.
Though Mr. Surjewala, a prominent figure in Haryana politics, has the tallest political stature among the 30-odd candidates in the fray, with the withdrawal of nominations fixed for January 14, he might find it difficult to shrug off the tag of being a “non-serious” candidate since he already represents Kaithal in the Haryana Assembly. Besides, the party’s traditional support base, Mr. Surjewala’s campaign managers pin hopes on his own persona. Said to be a “reluctant” candidate, Mr. Surjewala, who seems to have played a big political gamble by agreeing to the contest the election, could be harmed by factionalism in the party.
More than the party, Mr. Surjewala has high stakes for himself with the result likely to impact his chief ministerial ambitions.
Claiming to have a “Modi” like wave in the State with the strongest support base at Jind, JJP, which was launched amid huge fanfare in the political capital of the State, will be hugely impacted by the result of the first electoral contest and for the ruling BJP, riding high on the recent clean sweep in Mayor elections in five Municipal Corporations, the win could set the tempo for the upcoming Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections.
Voting is scheduled to be held on January 28 and the results will be out on January 31.