Haryana Polls - Voters Focused On Issues Of Livelihood

Haryana’s political journey, as it moves towards the state Assembly elections soon, stands at an interesting juncture. There is the well established political manoeuvring of caste equations, which all the key players –the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and also the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are aiming at.

Adding to that are the questions being asked about issues related to the economy. These issues are threatening to dominate the electoral discourse in a big way. If this happens, it will be the ruling BJP that will face the heat since it has been in power for the last ten years.

Some of the developments in the last few days are clear indicators of the political pitch gradually getting shriller on the economic issues, particularly the ones related to livelihood.

On Wednesday, it was the senior Congress leader Kumari Selja who came out with important statistics on the job scenario in the state.

She took on the ruling party, saying that under the BJP rule, there is neither investment nor environment, and the state's youth are distressed by unemployment. She quoted the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) report claiming that it exposes the situation of unemployed youth and increasing joblessness.

“The number of people getting jobs has decreased by five lakhs. In the country, seven lakh jobs in the private sector have decreased in one year,” she said.

Selja added that in the Economic Survey presented in the Lok Sabha on July 22, the government itself said that good growth and 7.8 million jobs are needed in the non-government sector every year. However, the latest payroll data from the Employees' Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) indicates that in the financial year 2023-24, there will be 700,000 fewer jobs compared to the previous year, which is the biggest decline in the past five years.

She said Haryana has lost 9.47 % of jobs. The decline in jobs is most significant in the manufacturing, Information Technology (IT) and service sectors. According to her, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Haryana are five states where employment opportunities in the private sector are rapidly decreasing.

A disturbing trend mentioned by Selja, is that apart from there being fewer new jobs and decline in old jobs, the number of people voluntarily leaving jobs is also increasing.

Attacking the mode of employment initiated by the Haryana government through Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam (HKRN) Kumari Selja said the government is playing with the future.

A big march has been announced by her under the Congress Sandesh Yatra in Hisar on August 3.

“The government has a lot to explain to the people. Why was the youth from Haryana recruited to work as labour in Israel when the country is at war? Just four days back a youth from Mataur in Kaithal reportedly died fighting in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

“These are not isolated instances. Many youngsters from the state are behind bars in other countries as they try emigrating illegally through the ‘Donkey’ routes.

“On one side the farm crisis continues to deepen and on the other Haryana ranks high in unemployment. This is also getting manifested in the deteriorating law and order scenario along with the high prevalence of substance addiction among the youth.

“We have a scenario where a high potential is reflected if one looks at the fact that Haryana is at the top when it comes to sending athletes and players to the ongoing Paris Olympics.

“But at the same time a large number is also succumbing to substance abuse,” senior All India Kisan Sabha leader (AIKS) Inderjit Singh said.

He asserted that livelihood issues can never be permanently suppressed and they keep on surfacing even as all out efforts are made to engross people in the politics of caste and communalism.

Singh cited the example of Karnal which is often referred to as the ‘de-facto’ capital of the state since the present Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and his predecessor Manohar Lal Khattar represented it in the legislatures.

“The place is witnessing protests on almost daily basis from all segments of the society whether they are sanitation workers, computer operators or health department personnel,” he said.

Referring to the death of the youth from Mataur village in Russia, Selja said, “After the Congress forms the government in Haryana, we will prioritise ensuring that no youth from the state has to leave the country in search of employment.” She expressed confidence that the youth wandering in search of jobs will oust the BJP from power in the upcoming Assembly elections.

When one talks about the job scenario in the state, one of the most important issues confronting the ruling party is the anger among the people with regards to the Agniveer scheme introduced for the defence forces. It needs to be underlined that Haryana is one of the topmost states sending manpower to the defence and paramilitary forces.

This anger was evident in the run up to the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls that saw the BJP’s tally coming down by 50% in the ten seats that were contested. The saffron party had made a clean sweep in the 2014 and 2019 polls but this time it lost five of the seats to the Congress.

The BJP understands the threat being posed by the anger against the Agniveer scheme and is trying its best to douse the fire. The matter was discussed at length by Saini with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a meeting ahead of the union budget presented on June 23.

After the meeting Saini told the media persons at Haryana Bhawan in New Delhi that significant benefits have been decided for Haryana's Agniveers by the state government.

These include a 10 % horizontal reservation in government job recruitment, age relaxation of five and three years as per rules and interest-free loans of up to Rs. 5 lakh for employment.

The Chief Minister said that the Prime Minister is focused on the Agniveer scheme. “If any industry in Haryana hires an Agniveer, the state will give that institution a rebate of Rs. 60,000. The Prime Minister carefully listened to the scheme run by the state government for the welfare of Agniveers,” a state government spokesperson stated.

Saini said the Prime Minister took detailed information about the schemes being run in Haryana and also got feedback on the implementation of the central government's schemes as well. There was also a discussion on upcoming projects and the forthcoming Assembly elections.

Claiming that significant changes have occurred in the state over the past 10 years, he said that work has been carried out at a rapid pace. “Efforts have been made to strengthen roads in every district, and four-lane roads, greenfield roads, and expressways have been constructed. Haryana has become a symbol of development in every sector,” Saini said.

He also chose the occasion to attack the opposition saying that the opposition parties have different ideologies and no concrete issues to discuss as they rely only on lies, and the public has understood their deceit.

PM Modi referring to the women's upliftment in Haryana in his ‘Mann ki Baat’ on July 28 is also being played up by the ruling dispensation in the state.

Pointing out that women are actively contributing by joining self-help groups (SHGs) while making significant contributions in the handloom industry, sewing, embroidery and other handicrafts, Modi referred to the Unnati SHG of Rohtak.

He said that “over 250 women associated with the Unnati SHG are now trained in block printing and dyeing. This training has not only enhanced their skills but has also empowered them economically.

“These women are supporting their families by creating magic with colours on fabrics and have become a source of inspiration in society.”

He emphasised how these women have “created a new identity with their confidence and hard work and their efforts have proven that if women work unitedly, they can overcome any challenge and become self-reliant”.

The Prime Minister stated that the efforts of the Unnati SHG are not only promoting the handloom industry but also making a positive contribution to the local economy. He encouraged women from other districts across the country to join similar groups and bring about changes in their lives.

The state government spokesperson stated, “Haryana government has taken several significant steps for women development and empowerment. These efforts aim not only to provide equal opportunities for women in the society but also to make them self-reliant economically, socially, and politically.

“Initiatives for gender equality, 50 percent reservation in Panchayati Raj institutions, upliftment through SHGs and steps to improve the sex ratio have marked significant progress in women's empowerment.”

Meanwhile, Saini on July 22 announced 50,000 recruitments in the days to come during a visit to Karnal. He has been persistently attacking jobs through ‘kharchi-parchi’ during the Congress regime implying that while there was corruption in recruitment during the previous regimes the recruitment under the BJP government has been transparent.

Saini has also been playing up giving plots to the poor, waiving electricity surcharge connections up to 2 kilowatts, promises of installation of 2 kilowatt solar panels on the roofs of houses belonging to consumers with an annual income of less than Rs 1.80 lakh and providing free travel up to 1,000 km per year in state transport buses for 84 lakh people with an annual income of less than Rs 1 lakh by issuing them HAPPY (Haryana Antyodaya Parivar Parivahan Yojana) cards.

The Haryana government has launched a publicity campaign under the title ‘Mhara Haryana Non-Stop Haryana’ in the media wherein it is playing up the developmental works done in the state over the last one decade.

For example, it claims that 48 lakh families are getting the facility of Below Poverty Line (BPL) cards where the annual income limit for eligibility stands increased from Rs 1.20 lakh to Rs 1.80 lakh. It claims that only 11.30 lakh families had BPL cards in 2014.

Similarly it claimed that clean drinking water is being delivered through taps to every household. A total of 5164 tubewells and 1557 boosting pumps were installed at a cost of Rs 1664 crore besides laying of 24,177 km long drinking water pipelines at a cost of Rs 4149 crore.

In yet another advertisement it claimed that the number of medical colleges that stood at six in 2014 has increased to 15 by 2024. The number of MBBS seats has gone up from 700 to 2185 during this period while the post graduation seats have gone up from 289 to 1006 seats.

These claims come in the face of the ‘Haryana Maange Hisab’ campaign being carried out by the Congress party under former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and state unit chief Uday Bhan.

Hooda in a recent media interaction questioned the development claims of the BJP in comparison to the achievements made during the Congress rule in the state.

“This government has been in power for the last ten years. Did they produce even a single unit of electricity? We established four thermal power and one nuclear power unit and left the state with surplus power.

“We laid down the 81 km Metro line. Did they even install one pole? We had got 250 km of railway line laid or approved. Tell me if they have laid down even one inch.

“We established 12 government universities.They established none. Tell me if they established even one institute like IIT, AIIMS, NIFT or Defence University,” Hooda said.

On being told about the AIIMS being set up in Rewari he countered, “A foundation stone has been laid after 10 years and there is no clarity on land acquired.”

“The slogan that they (BJP) are giving ‘Mhara Haryana Non-Stop Haryana’ should actually be read ‘Mhara Haryana Full-Stop Haryana’, he retorted.

A new dimension to the political campaign that is on in the state was recently given by the AAP when it announced five guarantees of Arvind Kejriwal at an event in Panchkula. The five guarantees being promised by the party include free 24 hour power supply, free medical treatment for all, free education in government schools, a Rs 1000 monthly honorarium to women and employment to the youth.

As the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is behind bars his wife Sunita Kejriwal is heading the party’s campaign in poll bound Haryana.

The AAP has been trying to get a foothold in this state that shares borders with Delhi where it has been in power for the last one decade under Arvind Kejriwal. With his roots in Haryana, the AAP is hard selling his face as ‘Haryana ka Laal’ (son of Haryana).

Haryana is sandwiched between Delhi and Punjab where the AAP is currently in power. Having attained the status of a national political party after the 2022 Gujarat assembly polls, the AAP is desperately trying to increase its footprints across various states.

It had performed reasonably well in the one seat it had contested in Haryana in the recent Lok Sabha polls though it could not emerge victorious. The party is keenly eyeing the Assembly constituencies bordering Delhi and Punjab and is trying to sell its Delhi model of governance to the people.

It has already announced its decision to go alone in forthcoming Haryana elections. At the Panchkula event, Sunita Kejriwal said that Arvind Kejriwal brought change in Delhi, change is happening in Punjab and it is the AAP’s responsibility to change Haryana.

She said that no one has worked for the people like Arvind Kejriwal and that is why Modi is ‘jealous’ of him and he was

imprisoned following a fake case against him.

“They say that Kejriwal is a thief. I say that if Kejriwal is a thief then no one is honest in this world. Modi ji has put the son of Haryana, in jail. Modi ji has challenged Haryana,” she said asserting that the BJP should not win even a single seat as this is a matter of Haryana’s honour.

In his address Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said, “If the leaders of other parties were right then what was the need for us to form a party. They challenged us to do it, we did it, so now they are saying don't come.

“The people of Haryana gave every party a chance. But no one turned out to be good. When we went to Jind, Kaithal, Tohana and Sonepat to hold rallies, people used to tell us that if you are doing such good work in Delhi and Punjab, then come to Haryana also so that our standard of living also becomes higher.”

Meanwhile, the INLD that has forged an alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has announced a series of joint meetings in all the 10 Lok Sabha constituencies. The INLD’s principal general secretary Abhay Singh Chautala and BSP’s national convener Akash Anand will participate in these meetings.

Chautala has claimed that while there is a lot of resentment among the people against the BJP in the state, the internal rift and fights of the Congress are also in front of the people.

The INLD and the Congress are also attacking the BJP for ‘ignoring’ Haryana in the recently presented union budget at the Centre.

It remains to be seen whether the caste equations overlap the real issues or the two go hand in hand during the campaign to the Assembly polls that are expected to be a keenly contested affair.

Former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda has stated that the announcement has been made by Saini seeing a clear defeat in the Assembly elections. He said, “The BJP has become so nervous that it is unable to understand anything. The government is constantly making such empty announcements which it cannot implement on the ground. The announcement of giving MSP on all crops is also one of them.”

He said that the BJP has made farmers yearn for MSP throughout its tenure, and every time the farmers had to take to the streets to get the price for every crop including wheat, paddy, sunflower, millet, maize and mustard, and that "there has not been a single season in which the farmers have not had to protest."

Hooda added that "the BJP has been against MSP as per its policies. That is why it has always tried to abolish it. During the Congress government, the MSP of wheat had been increased by 126 % and that of paddy by 143 % whereas during its entire tenure, the BJP has increased the MSP of wheat by 39 % and paddy by 54 %."