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The Congress has everything going for it in Haryana — Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) anti-incumbency, Jat consolidation, farmer and wrestler disenchantment with the ruling party. But at the eleventh hour, Congress leaders in Haryana are wary. This is because the BJP is all set to mount a massive campaign against the Congress after the endorsement of the Congress-National Conference (NC) alliance in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) by Pakistani defence minister Khawaja Asif.
The fact that the NC promised to bring back the now abrogated Article 370 is mostly seen as populist, while the Congress has been careful to steer clear of this treacherous domain successfully so far. ALSO READ | ‘They’re Celebrating..
.’: After Pakistan Minister’s Article 370 Pitch, PM Modi Hits Out At Congress-NC Alliance But an interview with Geo News changed the scenario as Asif said there was a “high chance" that Congress-NC could win the J&K election. “They (the alliance) have made it an election issue.
Pakistan and the National Conference-Congress alliance are on the same page in Jammu and Kashmir to restore Article 370 and 35A," Asif said. Facing the BJP’s attack, Haryana Congress leadership remains wary of this comment. Haryana, with 2% of the total population of India, sends 11% of soldiers to the Indian Armed Forces.
A rough estimate suggests that 10% of Haryana’s population belongs to the immediate family of soldiers with 200,000 who are on active duty. There is a significant lot who are either dependent spouses or children of Haryanvis in the armed forces and a significant lot who are retired. Almost every second family in Haryana has someone who works for the Indian armed forces — be it the army or paramilitary forces.
There’s a reason why Narendra Modi kicked off his 2014 Lok Sabha campaign from Rewari in Haryana, promising One Rank One Pension. The Congress feels this unwanted endorsement from Pakistan may have a ripple effect. The immediate reaction came from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his election rally in J&K where he claimed Pakistan was going “balle-balle" over this alliance’s manifesto.
“Pakistan’s Defence Minister has openly come out in support of the Congress-National Conference alliance. He says their agenda is the same as that of Pakistan..
. Congress and National Conference want to implement Pakistan’s agenda here in Jammu and Kashmir," Modi said. Soon, the BJP’s J&K in-charge Tarun Chugh led the charge.
“The comments of Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif make it clear that Rahul Gandhi and Farooq Abdullah are speaking Pakistan’s language and dancing to Paksitan’s tune." He further claimed both are taking “dictations" from Pakistan which are “language of terrorism". Sources in the BJP suggest starting this weekend, the BJP will mount a campaign in Haryana — both by visiting door-to-door as well as through social media — to drive home the point that Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s Congress has the backing from Pakistan, which is fighting the sons of Haryana.
Haryana also has an 8% Punjabi population which, too, will be targeted in the coming days, say sources. “When Article 370 and 35A were removed, Rahul Gandhi’s controversial statements were cited by Imran Khan at the United Nations," said BJP leader RP Singh, adding both Gandhi and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge have to explain this backing from Pakistan. Former CM Manohar Lal Khattar — a fellow Punjabi — is also likely to be used in the coming days to appeal to the Punjabi sentiments.
While Hooda campaigned through Israna, Panipath rural, Safido, and Jind throughout the day, addressing remarkable crowds and beaming with confidence, the BJP thinks Asif has delivered them something that even the tall promises of their own manifesto couldn’t – a turnaround opportunity..
