Ellenabad bypolls: Last ditch effort by parties to woo voters

Making a reference to Sirsa district, which was once considered a stronghold of the INLD, Ajay said, This stronghold is going to become a khandar ruin for them. Addressing a separate election meeting, Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala appealed the gathering to make Gobind victorious, saying it will be his responsibility to ensure development of the constituency.

With only a few days left for the Ellenabad bypolls in Haryana, key parties are making last ditch effort to woo the voters, with Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar holding his first election rally on Tuesday, claiming all-round development in the state. While the BJP has fielded Gobind Kanda as the party candidate from Ellenabad, main opposition Congress has fielded Pawan Beniwal. In the triangular contest, they are up against Indian National Lok Dal's senior leader Abhay Singh Chautala, whose resignation in January over the farm laws issue had necessitated the bypolls to the rural constituency falling in Sirsa district. Addressing an election meeting in the constituency, Khattar without naming anyone, said some people are trying to create fear among voters. He said voting to a person of their choice is people's democratic right. ''And they must exercise their vote without any fear,'' he said.

He said now Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala, JJP chief Ajay Singh Chautala and Power Minister and Independent MLA Ranjit Singh Chautala are part of the BJP-led coalition government.

''A big part of that (Chautala) family is with us,'' he said.

He also said those people who stand with truth and are firm on principles taste victory. While Abhay and his father O P Chautala have been campaigning in the constituency, the former MLA's elder brother and JJP president Ajay Singh Chautala besides Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala sought votes for the BJP candidate. Dushyant addressed a separate election meeting in Ellenabad while Ajay Singh Chautala, who was accompanied by JJP state president Nishan Singh, spoke at the election rally addressed by the chief minister. Power Minister and Abhay's uncle Ranjit Singh Chautala addressed the election meeting with the chief minister and sought votes for Kanda. On the other hand, Haryana Congress chief Kumari Selja has been aggressively campaigning for her party candidate. Addressing an election meeting in Randhawa village in Nathusari Chopta in Sirsa district, Khattar said his government has ensured all-round development of the state. ''We had promised a transparent and corruption-free government and we delivered on what we said,'' said Khattar. He said recruitment was made on merit, which is now sole criteria for getting jobs unlike favouritism that prevailed during the previous regime. On the farmers' issue, Khattar said the government was working for their welfare and touched upon several initiatives and schemes in this regard. In his address, Ajay Chautala launched a scathing attack on Abhay Chautala, saying his ego is responsible for the situation which INLD finds itself in today. ''When the party bifurcated, INLD's vote share was 27 per cent with 20 legislators, which plunged to 0.8 per cent in the 2019 Assembly polls. His ego created this situation,'' said Ajay. Making a reference to Sirsa district, which was once considered a stronghold of the INLD, Ajay said, ''This stronghold is going to become a 'khandar' (ruin) for them.'' Addressing a separate election meeting, Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala appealed the gathering to make Gobind victorious, saying it will be his responsibility to ensure development of the constituency. ''People of Ellenabad are giving a lot of support to the alliance candidate. The alliance will win the seat comfortably. It will be alliance's win over 'bhai' (fear) and 'ahankar' (pride),'' said Dushyant in a veiled attack on Abhay while interacting with reporters later. Addressing a poll meeting, INLD chief and former CM O P Chautala appealed to voters to make Abhay victorious, even as he hit out at the BJP-JJP government, dubbing it as a ''failure on all fronts''. Abhay exuded confidence of his victory and said people of Ellenabad know that he has stood by them all these years. In her election meeting in the constituency, Congress leader Kumari Selja hit out at the BJP-led government, saying it is not listening to farmers. The bypolls will be held on October 30 and the counting will take place on November 2. Gobind Kanda, brother of Haryana Lokhit Party chief and legislator Gopal Kanda, had joined the BJP recently and has been fielded by the BJP-JJP combine. Pawan Beniwal, who had unsuccessfully contested the previous assembly poll against Abhay Chautala, had recently switched over from the BJP to the Congress.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)