My victory will unsettle the BJP in Haryana: Cong MP Deepender Singh Hooda

Three-time MP from Rohtak, Deepender Singh Hooda, son of former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, is contesting the Lok Sabha elections again. He tells Nitin Kumar how a Congress victory will change the dynamics of power in the state. Edited excerpts:
 
Do you think this time it is a tough contest for you: Top leaders are campaigning for the Rohtak seat…
 
No, in any election, each candidate from a party visits their constituency. It was not that I didn’t want to campaign. Like others, I campaign too. It is natural. I have done it in the past as well. This is not because it is a tough election but a natural process of democracy. All candidates campaign.

 

What are the achievements of the last five years that you will show to the people and seek votes?
 
Some of the achievements of my constituency include the longest national highways (1,080 km of four lane and six lane) in India. My constituency has all three top higher education institutions — AIIMS, IIT and IIM — which I was able to get from the government of India and Haryana. Apart from this, I have been able to establish around 48 other educational institutes in my constituency.
 
In 2014, the Congress was wiped out from Haryana, only you were able to save your seat. How will the 2019 election be different?

 
I think the Congress will win majority of seats in Haryana this time.
 
The BJP holds you up as an example of dynasty politics. How do you see it?
 
When I won my first election, being from a political family helped me to get a ticket and I won. But when I went to the people for the second time, I told them: Vote for me if you like my work. The same happened the third time around.
 
In most cases, people don’t accept the second and third generation. This time I’m seeking the support of the people for the fourth time and if you look at my speeches you will find that I tell everybody: “You have seen my work and my behaviour and if you think I’m fit to represent you and you are satisfied with my performance in the Parliament, you should vote for me”.

 
So, it’s up to the people. In a democracy people’s representatives are elected by them — they are not selected by anybody sitting on a throne. It’s the people who are electing me and that’s the supreme power in a democracy.
 
This election is a test to know who will rule the state this time as the Assembly polls are round the corner. How do you see it?
 
I think the results are going to have a huge impact on the Assembly polls, especially the win in Rohtak, where the BJP is targeting the Congress’ leadership namely Hooda Ji and me personally. This win will pave the way for the change in Haryana and Congress’ victory in the state.

 
The prime minister came to my constituency on the last day of the campaign. Even that gambit did not succeed.
 
I am confident that I’m going to win this election by a big majority and it will shake the BJP government’s setting in Chandigarh.
 
This time the Congress is betting on former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Is it a move to secure a seat? or does the Congress have no new faces in the state capable of delivering a victory for the party?
 
There are certain decisions that party leadership takes that have many meanings. Like Captain Amarinder Singh contesting from Amritsar. That doesn’t mean that the Congress doesn’t have candidates. It is to indicate something else… and to send a message to the cadre. When a leader of that stature, who has been the CM contests a Lok Sabha election, it is to send a message to the people.

 
In Haryana, there are always allegations of groupism among political leaders like Ashok Tanwar and Bhupinder Singh Hooda factions. How do you think this will affect the forthcoming polls?
 
There is no group in the Congress. The party is united.
 
The Congress lost Jind bypoll by a huge margin, even when they fielded a heavyweight like Randeep Singh Surjewala. Why?
 
You would see that we will win the Lok Sabha election and we had our own internal assessment on that and we need not share it with everyone.
 
This time you’re fighting against a former Congress leader Arvind Sharma. How are you looking at this challenge?

 
Sharma doesn’t have any credibility. He wanted a ticket from Karnal. He was not willing to contest from Rohtak initially but was persuaded by the BJP to contest from Rohtak — as I am told. He has changed six parties and five constituencies to finally land up here by a parachute and that too, not by choice. So I don’t think his candidature will have any impact.
 
Once Jat leaders were politicians who called the shots at the national level and used to focus on agricultural issues. Now you see a change in current Jat politics. There are a lot of cycles in politics.

 
There have been allegations that the Congress is a Jat party, which led to a massive defeat in 2014. How do you see it and if Congress wins, will the CM be a Jat CM?
 
No, the Congress belongs to everyone, which means every caste, community, and religion has their own space in the party. That’s the party’s ideology. The BJP wants to pursue a divisive agenda by excluding certain sections of the society. That exclusion through divisive politics is not good for anyone and you will see that this time, the developmental agenda that we are bringing to the people will triumph over the divisive agenda of the BJP. The Congress party believes in meritocracy, democracy, which implies voice of the people and I think people will decide the next CM of Haryana.

 
The BJP accuses the Congress of playing politics of minority appeasement, what do you have to say on this?
 
The Congress party’s politics is not driven by any particular section of the society. We take everyone with us whether someone is from minority or not, and strengthen the country unlike the BJP, which is making people fight with each other on the basis of caste and religion. The Congress works to connect people. The BJP tried doing the same in Rohtak but they could not succeed. People are aware of their tricks now. They will show that through their vote.

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