New Delhi: Ahead of the assembly polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is facing unexpected resistance in Haryana as multiple leaders and candidates encounter protests and opposition from villagers across various constituencies.
The ongoing protests have taken a toll on both the BJP and its former ally, the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), with numerous prominent leaders and candidates from both the parties facing intense public backlash, The Indian Express reported.
In Adampur, a constituency held by the family of former chief minister Bhajan Lal since 1972, Kuldeep and Bhavya Bishnoi faced protests in Kutiawali village. The situation escalated into a scuffle between the villagers and supporters of the leaders, prompting police intervention and the eventual escort of the BJP leaders out of the village. However, Kuldeep Bishnoi downplayed the incident, attributing it to Opposition instigation, the report mentioned. The BJP has fielded sitting MLA Bhavya Bishnoi from the Adampur seat.
Similar protests were reported in other constituencies, including Naraingarh in Ambala, where BJP candidate Pawan Saini was blocked from entering the main area by local farmer organisations. The protesters waved black flags and shouted anti-BJP slogans forcing Saini to change his route. Chief minister Nayab Singh Saini had won this seat in 2014.
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On Monday, Dhanesh Adlakha, the BJP candidate from Faridabad’s Badkhal, was blocked by protesters and forced to take a U-turn while en route to Navada village. A group of angry protesters asked Adlakha to get out of his car and walk on the rain-damaged road, which was littered with potholes and mud from the recent downpours, the report added.
On Sunday six-time BJP MLA and former state home minister Anil Vij was forced to leave a public meeting in Ambala Cantonment after a group of farmers from the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Bhagat Singh faction) raised slogans over the death of farmer Shubhkaran Singh, who was shot dead in Khanauri in February during the farmers’ agitation, IE reported.
Similarly, former BJP minister Krishan Bedi found himself in a heated argument with villagers, who called him out for his silence during the 2020-21 farmers’ agitation, in Bhivkhewala in Jind district. He is contesting from Narwana.
In Hisar district, BJP’s candidate from Hansi constituency Vinod Bhayana lost his composure when confronted by protesting villagers. The protesters questioned him about the killing of Shubhkaran and accused him of being part of an “anti-farmer” party. “If you don’t want to vote, do not, but do not misbehave,” Bhayana was quoted as saying by IE.
Dushyant Chautala, the former deputy chief minister and JJP leader, faced a fierce backlash from protesters in Chhatar village, which falls under his constituency Uchana Kalan, on Sunday. An angry mob waved black flags at his convoy and then surrounded his vehicle, demanding answers for his decision to join forces with the BJP post 2019 assembly elections, as per the report.
The BJP attributed the protests to Opposition instigation, claiming they were “political gimmicks” aimed at scoring points. However, former chief minister and Leader of the Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda countered, “It is a democracy. The protests are the result of their (BJP and JJP) non-performance,” IE reported.
