The Congress and the BJP are fighting parallel battles here -one against rival candidates and the other against their own party members - and he who can strike a balance more prudently may steal the show.
The internal bickering in the state unit of the Congress may spoil the party for its Karnal candidate Arvind Sharma. Similarly, BJP's I D Swami is facing opposition within his own state unit in the run-up to the polls on May 7.
Sharma is looking for a hat-trick, but unlike in 2004 when he trounced BJP's I D Swami by nearly one lakh votes, it is not going to be a cakewalk this time. Sharma is believed to be sharing cold vibes with some state unit leaders including Haryana Congress' working president Kuldeep Sharma, who was also an aspirant for the party ticket from here.
Moreover, the anti-incumbency factor, too, may work against him. Last year, Sharma had opened a front against Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, accusing him of being discriminatory against North Haryana in jobs and development work, and this may be a cause for concern for him.
BJP candidate Swami, too, is not getting enough backing from State leaders and during his electioneering mostly leaders from the BJP's ally, the INLD, are present. Moreover, critics say Swami remained "invisible" most of the time from this constituency.
