Haryana elections: BJP faces challenging contest in longtime bastion Gurgaon

Parvesh Sharma

Gurugram, Sep 19 (IANS) With elections all set to be held in Haryana's 90 Assembly seats on October 5, all eyes would be on the Gurgaon constituency, considered a stronghold of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). A bastion for 10 years for the BJP, this time, the party has been grappling with dissatisfaction and discord among a section of workers and members over ticket distribution.  

The BJP, thanks to the widespread popularity and influence of six-time parliamentarian and Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh, has successfully maintained a strong grip on the Gurgaon Lok Sabha seat which includes nine Assembly constituencies.

The BJP emerged victorious in Gurgaon in 2014, and also successfully defended the seat against the Congress and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) in 2019 Assembly polls.

The Gurgaon parliamentary constituency which covers nine Assembly seats across three districts -- four in Gurgaon, three in Mewat, and two in Rewari -- has always been considered a "critical political arena".

According to political analysts, even as the BJP has traditionally achieved remarkable strength in the urban segments of this region, this time, internal clashes and dissatisfaction among party members have emerged as challenges for the BJP in this region.

The dissatisfaction among the party workers arose over the allocation of tickets. Experienced party workers have been sidelined, leading to discord and "rebellion". Political observers believe these differences might impact voter turnout, hitting the 'loyalty factor'.

The selection of candidates may affect party dominance in Gurgaon, which could weaken the party's voter base.

Gurugram has four seats from the district -- Gurgaon, Badshahpur, Sohna, and Pataudi.

In the 2019 Haryana elections, the BJP secured three of these four seats, except for Badshahpur, which elected independent candidate Rakesh Janghu who defeated BJP's Manish Yadav by a margin of 10,000 votes.

The Gurgaon seat has historically been an urban seat and a mixture of Punjabi, Brahmin and Vaishya (Baniya) communities.

In the 2019 elections, BJP's Sudhir Singla won comfortably, defeating his closest rival by more than 32,000 votes, while the Congress candidate, Sukhbir Kataria, finished third.

This time, the party has denied sitting MLA Sudhir Singla a ticket for the upcoming election. The BJP instead picked Mukesh Sharma, a wrestler-turned-politician, and a close aide of Rao Inderjit Singh.

The party's decision has sparked internal dissatisfaction, leading to the resignation of senior leaders like G.L. Sharma, a former vice-president of Haryana unit BJP, and Navin Goel. Their resignations are likely to affect the voters' sentiment.

The Congress has fielded Mohit Grover, a young Punjabi face. He has recently joined the Congress. He came second as an Independent candidate in the 2019 elections.

Meanwhile, political analysts believe that the 'success' of the BJP's new candidate, Mukesh Sharma in the upcoming election may not be easy as Gurugram city is currently facing numerous civic issues, including infrastructure shortcomings, waterlogging, poor road conditions, pollution, water shortages, and inconsistent electricity supply. These challenges could lead to voter dissatisfaction.

The BJP has been facing internal discord not only within the Gurgaon assembly segment but in the other three constituencies as well.

The Badshahpur Assembly constituency has become a major point of internal strife within the BJP. Party leader Rao Narbir Singh's nomination has further intensified discord among the local BJP workers.

Gurugram district unit president Kamal Yadav was among the hopefuls for the Assembly polls ticket.

Rao Narbir Singh, an influential Ahir leader with a strong political presence and grassroots connections in villages, remains a favourable candidate. Yet, he might face a bigger challenge from within the party.

The Sohna Assembly constituency has historically been a stronghold for the BJP, with victories in both the 2014 and 2019 elections. However, the party's decision to deny the ticket to the sitting MLA, Sanjay Singh, a minister in the Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini-led government -- and nominate former MLA Tejpal Tanwar -- has triggered dissatisfaction.

However, the party later fielded Sanjay Singh from the Nuh Assembly constituency.

The BJP's decision to "reintroduce" Tejpal Tanwar, despite his controversial past, indicates his ability to win back the seat, analysts believe.

From the Pataudi Assembly constituency, which is a reserved seat, the party has fielded former MLA Bimla Chaudhary, denying ticket to sitting MLA Satya Prakash Jarawata.

Here, the party's decision has sparked internal dissatisfaction, leading to the resignation of senior leaders like Sumer Tanwar.

However, Jarawata, a lawyer by profession, recently held a press conference to "assure" that he supported the party's decision and would seek votes for the party candidate.

--IANS

str/pgh