Haryana seems set to make a break with the past. No incumbent government has ever returned to power for a second successive term since 1977. But when the state goes to the Assembly polls tomorrow, this tradition could be broken.
The ruling Congress party, which is contesting all the 90 Assembly seats, had won the first three Assembly polls — in 1967, 1968 and 1972. The party aims at retain power this time too.
The Bhupinder Singh Hooda government had got the Assembly polls advanced by seven months, hoping to cash in on the party’s stellar show in the recent Lok Sabha polls when it bagged nine out of 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
In the last Assembly polls in 2005, the Congress had stormed to power, winning 67 seats.
A National Election Study (NES) 2009 conducted by Lokniti and Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, reveals that Hooda was rated by 32 per cent of respondents as the top choice for the CM’s post and Chautala remained runner-up with just 14 per cent approval. More than 60 per cent expressed satisfaction with the Hooda government’s performance.
Even a majority of NDA voters were satisfied with the state government’s performance. The Congress is seen as a party capable of improving law and order by 41 per cent, whereas 31 per cent expressed no opinion.
With the Opposition in a shambles after the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) parted ways and parties like the Haryana Janhit Congress and Bahujan Samaj Party going alone, the Congress camp is optimistic of an easy victory in view of the multi-cornered contest in all seats.
The Congress is banking on development projects initiated by the state and the central governments, while its opponents are alleging that the benefits of welfare schemes have reached only a few. The shortage of power is a big electoral issue in the state.
