Candidates take a break as hectic campaign ends

Gurgaon: A day before polling, and at the end of a long, gruelling and hectic campaign, candidates contesting the Lok Sabha election in Gurgaon on Saturday spent time with their family members and met party workers to discuss the mood of voters in the constituency.
Congress candidate Captain Ajay Yadav received last-minute support from sacked BSF constable Tej Bahadur Yadav, who is from Haryana. Tej Bahadur belongs to Rewari, which comes under the Gurgaon LS constituency. The BSF constable, who was dismissed in 2017 after he posted a video online complaining about the food served to troops, had been fielded by Samajwadi Party from Varanasi, but his nomination was rejected by EC, a decision later upheld by the Supreme Court.
Captain Yadav expressed confidence about his victory and said people from all assembly constituencies in Gurgaon were backing him. “Constable Yadav has exposed the ill-treatment given to our paramilitary forces. He, along with his well-wishers, has supported Congress,” he said.
Captain Yadav’s son Chiranjeev Rao, who is a Youth Congress leader, said, “My father has been campaigning for over a month now. Today he got some time to rest. He also reviewed deployment of party workers at polling booths.”
Sitting MP Rao Inderjit Singh, who is contesting again on a BJP ticket, appealed to Gurugrammers to come out and vote. He, too, met party workers to discuss strategy for polling day. Inderjit said he was confident that a high turnout will only increase his victory margin.
Stressing that the Modi wave of 2014 had “multiplied” this time, he said voters would understand that this election was for “strengthening” the nation. “The BJP-led government has transformed the country. There is zero tolerance for corruption and terrorism,” he said.
Meanwhile, INLD candidate Virendar Rana was endorsed by former India captain Kapil Dev. The former cricketer, who led the country to its famous cricket World Cup victory in 1983, said in a statement: “Gurugram has always been under the radar of crimes, pollution, lack of infrastructure, water shortages. The Gurgaon MP has a record of wishful promises but no proven results. I believe his policy-oriented approach will bring out more accountability in governance and results. India needs a person like him.”
Urging people to vote for him, Dev said Rana has vision and dynamism, which are needed to solve key concerns like waste management, air pollution and crime against women.