Bypoll for Baroda assembly seat: ruling, opposition parties in Haryana train guns at each other

The seat had fallen vacant in April this year after the demise of Congress legislator Shri Krishan Hooda. Talking to reporters after the EC announced the poll date, Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij said, “We were waiting for the dates to be announced.” He said the BJP will field its candidate and will win the contest in alliance with the JJP.

With the date for bypolls in Haryana's Baroda assembly constituency announced on Tuesday, the ruling BJP-JJP combine and the opposition parties trained guns at each other with each side making claims of winning the seat. The bypolls to Baroda will be held on November 3 and the votes will be counted on November 10, the Election Commission said. The seat had fallen vacant in April this year after the demise of Congress legislator Shri Krishan Hooda.

Talking to reporters after the EC announced the poll date, Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij said, “We were waiting for the dates to be announced.” He said the BJP will field its candidate and will win the contest in alliance with the JJP. Agriculture Minister J P Dalal, who visited Baroda Tuesday, said several development projects approved recently will give a boost to development in the constituency. Hitting out at the Congress, Vij added that people will reject the opposition party and vote in favour of “development”.

Both Vij and Dalal took on the Congress on the new farm laws, saying the pieces of legislation were in the interest of farmers and accused the opposition party of misleading them. While Vij said farmers have understood the Congress “gameplan”, Dalal said it has "always been Congress policy to use somebody else's shoulder to grind their political axe.” “Under the farm laws, we have only given farmers an additional option. The arrangement which has been made is to prevent exploitation of farmers by middlemen... We have the best mandi system and the crop purchase at MSP will continue,” Dalal said.

Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala said the two alliance partners will soon announce the candidate and win the bypolls. Attacking the Congress, he said, “People have understood that they are trying to mislead. Those who snatched the land of farmers and looted them when they were in power are now trying to project themselves as sympathisers of the peasants”.  Indian National Lok Dal leader Abhay Singh Chautala, reacting to Congress claims of winning the seat, said, “Let (former Chief Minister) Bhupinder Singh Hooda contest the bypolls. He will come to know of his popularity”.

He said the INLD was on a strong footing and people were fed up with the ruling BJP-JJP's “anti-people” and “anti-farmer” policies while Congress too would be rejected by the people in the polls.     Congress leader Deepender Singh Hooda said the Baroda byelection is an "opportunity for farmers, employees, labourers, shopkeepers, small traders and other sections" to teach a lesson to the BJP-led government, “which is constantly taking anti-people decisions”. He said the countdown of the BJP-JJP coalition government will start after the result of the assembly seat is announced.