SLUG: HARYANA ASSEMBLY POLLS



With the date of filing nominations getting closer, the process of selection of the candidates for the Haryana Assembly election has started in various parties- Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress, Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The finalisation of the names won’t be easy for them as community and caste-based associations have started lobbying for their representation.

In the Assembly election 2019, out of 90 seats, BJP had won 40; the Congress 31, JJP 10, INLD 1 and Independents/others had 8 MLAs.

As parties like INLD, JJP, BSP and AAP did not perform well in the recently concluded Lok Sabha election, the fight this time round seems to be a direct one between Congress and the BJP.  The Congress party and BJP each had won five seats in the Lok Sabha election in Haryana. The Lok Sabha poll results have led to a spurt in the number of aspirants for the Congress party tickets in the majority of the assembly segments in the State. A total of 2,556 aspirants have applied for the Congress ticket for the 90-member Haryana Assembly polls slated for October 1. The Congress has got 743 applications for 17 reserved seats with an average of around 44 applications per seat while a total of 1,813 aspirants have applied for the remaining 73 general seats with an average of around 25 applications per seat. This party has received on average 19 applications more in each constituency reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) than general ones.

Congress is looking for a qualified candidate through interviews, surveys, and other methods, but looking at the competition and factionalism among the claimants, it is clear that ticket distribution is not going to be easy for both parties. A senior Congress leader said, “The interviews of the aspirants are being carried out by multiple teams of the Congress in Delhi. Over 100 aspirants are being called for that daily. Around 1,000 of 2556 aspirants have appeared for the interview till date. The process has been expedited keeping in view the date of filing nomination getting closure.”

He further said that during the interview, besides their profile, aspirants are being asked about the details of their Assembly constituency, the number of villages or polling booths, caste equation, etc. Two other suitable candidates in the constituency and what is their poll contesting plan etc, he added.  

Though various parties have adopted selection criteria and invited formal applications, demands raised by community and caste-based groups and their pressure on the party's high command or leadership play a crucial role in deciding the ticket allotment. The greater the vote share of a community, the bigger the pressure. While every community has at least two or three associations, some of these tend to become active during the elections as they see it as an opportunity to strengthen their representation at political levels. Several associations under the banner of the Brahmin Sabha, Gaur Brahmin Sabha, Jat Mahasabha, Gurjar Mahasabha, Maharaja Agrasen Sabha (Vaishya), Punjabi Mahasabha, Rajput Sabha and Ambedkar Sabha have their presence in almost every district. Such organisations do want to increase their influence or participation in the power corridors, they take up their demands with senior leaders or party high commands through various means. An association of the Punjabi community has raised the demand for the selection of its candidates.

Since anti-incumbency is the biggest challenge for the BJP after two consecutive terms in the government, the party had made it clear that fresh faces would be fielded from several seats and deadwood would be removed. Sources in BJP said that the party has not yet formally invited applications from aspirants for the party ticket, but it had recently conducted an opinion poll to find out the three most ‘suitable’ candidates for each Assembly segment. “Under the process, the party leaders, including MLAs and MPs, office bearers of various cells and workers had written the name of three such candidates in each segment on a slip and put it in a box at every headquarters till August 11. Besides the opinion poll, the party has conducted multiple surveys to ascertain winnable candidates,” he added.

Moreover, despite opposing dynastic politics vociferously, the BJP is likely to depart from its 'one family, one ticket' formula and make an exception to accommodate family members of its leaders in the state.  Union Minister of State Rao Inderjit’s daughter, Aarti Rao, has already announced her decision to contest the election with or without a party ticket; Established leaders are also making such demands. While another Union Minister, Krishan Pal Gujjar, wants a ticket for his son, MP Dharambir Singh is also keen for his son to contest the Assembly elections. The party's nominee, Kiran Choudhry, who is set to be elected to the Rajya Sabha, is also keen on a ticket for her daughter, Shruti, a former MP. Also, MP Naveen Jindal’s mother, Savitri Jindal, a former minister, is hoping to get a ticket,” a source said.

Aam Aadmi Party's Haryana unit chief Sushil Gupta said that his party would soon declare its candidates for Assembly polls with screening and survey for the purpose underway. AAP will put up a strong fight in all 90 Assembly segments. Candidates will be declared by August 31. The AAP will give tickets to those whom people want, he said.

With just over a month left for Assembly polls, Dushyant Chautala has found himself in a major crisis as his Jannayak Janata Party MLAs continue to desert him. With one after another MLA bidding farewell, the party has lost 60 per cent of its assembly strength in the last few days. Dushyant said that the list of candidates would be finalized by convening a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Political Affairs before September 1.

For the Assembly election, BSP and INLD have reached a seat-sharing arrangement. Of the 90 seats in the state, INLD will contest 53, while the BSP will contest 37 seats, including all 17 reserved seats for Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates as BSP is considered a party of Dalits.

JJP, BSP and INLD are facing difficulty in finding good candidates because of the declining vote share of these parties in subsequent elections in the state. These parties are now waiting for the candidate list of major parties like Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party, so that those who could not get tickets from these parties.