Caste divide vs Bhupinder Singh Hooda's report card: Take your pick

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s Sonipat district office, filled with student politicians, is a contrast to the Congress base not too far away. Elderly Jats, mostly old friends and acquaintances of Congress leader and former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, are jostling for space at the party office ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in Haryana scheduled for May 12.

BJP workers appear confident that the Modi wave would work, adding to the advantage of divided Jat vote. Those from the Congress side are busy defending Hooda.

Having served as chief minister of Haryana for two terms from 2005 to 2014, Hooda, 71, is banking on the development work he had done for the state. Whether its his back-to-back roadshows or any other Congress campaign, the theme of development remains constant.

“The state knows who built the roads, education institutions, medical facilities and several other infrastructure for it. He is not forgotten. People are now wise, they know we talk development and BJP is just playing with caste,” said a senior functionary in Haryana Congress.

Jat and non-Jat vote would be a major factor on this seat. Post 2016, Jat agitation for reservation and alleged role of Hooda in it are said to have triggered this divide. BJP is leaving nothing to chance and playing up the divide, people in the know said.

“There are three strong Jat leaders contesting in Sonipat, so the Jat vote would get divided. The educated, rural and non-Jat vote would come to BJP,” said a former ABVP president of Sonipat at the BJP roadshow on Thursday. He was referring to Digvijay Chautala, great grandson of Chaudhary Devi Lal and a member of the Janayak Janta Party (JJP) contesting along with Aam Aadmi Party. Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) has fielded a Jat businessman Surender Chikara here. Chautala, armed with an impressive performance in the Jind bypoll, could give a close fight to Hooda. BJP has fielded the sitting MP Ramesh Kaushik but for the party it is just Modi.

Ultimately, there are only two factors at play here – Jat vs non-Jat vote and Modi ko laana hai ya Modi ko nahi laana hai (should we bring back Modi or not, according to a political insider.