After the announcement of the Lok Sabha polls, the ruling Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) and the main opposition Congress party are on their toes to win all 10 parliamentary seats. All political factions are intensifying their efforts to showcase their capabilities and devising various strategies to attract voters and gain political advantage. Both the ruling BJP and the Congress are making extensive efforts to secure victory for the third consecutive time and to end their respective periods of political exile, respectively.
Gurugram Lok Sabha seat adjoining National Capital Delhi, which is being considered one of the hot parliamentary seats, emerges as one of the largest Lok Sabha seats in terms of total voters in Haryana. The BJP stalwart Rao Inderjeet Singh, who continues to suffer back-to-back blows within the party, is on his toes to mark his fourth consecutive victory. The BJP has fielded him from the Gurugram seat for the third time, while the Congress still remains undecided in terms of the finalization of candidate on the seat. Although the Congress has not declared candidate for any seat, everyone, along with the BJP and other parties, is eyeing the possible candidate of the Congress for the seat.
Political experts are of the opinion that, in view of the prevailing political scenario, the battle mainly seems to be between the BJP and the Congress. After the BJP has fielded sitting MP Rao Inderjit Singh, the Congress is mulling over a suitable and winning candidate for the seat. It is a noticeable fact that Rao Inderjeet, who requires no introduction in political spheres in state politics, is a heavyweight candidate, while several Congress big shots are in fray for the ticket from Gurugram parliamentary seat. Congress stalwarts, namely Captain Ajay Yadav, Rao Dan Singh, and Vardhan Yadav, queue up for the ticket, but since Rao Inderjeet has a strong hold, it would not be a cakewalk for the Congress to emerge victorious on the seat. Therefore, Congress is looking for a strong candidate from here. It is pertinent to mention that Gurugram exists as one of the modern cities across the country despite the fact that the issues, namely poor air quality, unemployment, sanitation crisis, and lack of infrastructure for citizens, are required to be addressed properly. Sanitation, drinking water, power, affordable health, and education remain concerns for those living in the Old Gurugram City.
It is evident from the electoral history of Haryana since its inception that, be it ticket distribution or other political developments, the caste factor has played a decisive factor in state politics. The caste factor is most likely to play a deciding role in the forthcoming election, just as in previous elections. Muslims, Yadavs, and Scheduled Castes , who together account for about 50% of registered voters, will play a prominent role. Punjabis and Jats are the other major groups in this constituency.
As far as the 10 Lok Sabha constituencies of the state are concerned, Gurugram Lok Sabha constituency emerges as the largest constituency in the state in terms of votes, with a total of 2505345 voters. Gurugram Lok Sabha constituency includes all four assembly constituencies of the present Gurugram district: Gurgaon, Sohna, Badshahpur, and Pataudi; three assembly constituencies of Mewat (Nuh) district: Nuh, Firozpur, Jhirka, and Punhana; and Bawal and Rewari assembly constituencies falling under Rewari district. The number of voters in these four assembly constituencies increased from 1305282 in January 2023 to 1390147 in January 2024, and in this respect, 84865 voters have increased in these four constituencies. According to the latest data, Badshahpur assembly constituency, falling under Gurugram district, is the largest assembly in Haryana with 463549 voters.
BJP stalwart Rao Inderjeet is suffering back-to-back setbacks in the party. It is pertinent to mention that despite having widespread acceptability and influence on around a dozen assembly seats in South Haryana known as the Ahirwal Belt, BJP stalwart Rao Inderjeet is suffering back-to-back blows within the party. Rao Inderjeet is believed to be upset with the party as several arch rivals of his have been given berth in the organizational setup in the state as well as in the center, adding to his woes. Recently, his arch-rival and BJP MLA Abhay Singh Yadav was appointed as the state cabinet minister, another fresh setback to Rao Inderjeet.
Earlier, disgruntled with his negligence in Congress, he quit the party and joined the saffron BJP ahead of the parliamentary polls in 2014. Further, Rao Inderjit Singh contested elections from the Gurugram Lok Sabha seat twice in a row in 2014 and 2019 on a BJP ticket, marking victory by a huge margin, and both times he was given a berth in the central cabinet and appointed as Minister of State in the Central Government.
But for a long time, he has been building pressure on the state as well as the central leadership to fulfill his political ambitions and seeking a ticket for his daughter Aarti Rao to carry forward his political legacy, but due to Rao’s pressure politics, the BJP has been giving back-to-back blows to Rao Inderjit Singh to strike balance in the Ahirwal belt ahead of the polls. His arch-rivals, namely Bhupender Yadav, Sudha Yadav, Santosh Yadav, Arvind Yadav, and Randhi Kapdiwas, have been given prominent positions in the state BJP in a bid to decentralize power in south Haryana. In this row, Randhir Kapdawas, who was expelled from the BJP and contested independently in the 2019 assembly polls, has been made to return to the BJP, which is being considered a fresh blow to Rao Inderjeet ahead of the parliamentary polls.
Notably, Randhir Kapdiwas had accused Rao Inderjeet of his expulsion from the party then. Keeping in view the role of Rao Inderjeet in his removal from the party, Randhir Kapdiwas is still believed to be upset with him and is likely to weaken Rao Inderjeet ahead of the polls. It is worth noting that following the denial of a ticket from the BJP, Kapriwas contested the elections unsuccessfully, remaining in second place, which resulted in the debacle of BJP candidate Sunil Musepur, a close one backed by Rao Inderjit Singh. The BJP had suspended him for a period of six years, but in light of the possibility of Lok Sabha polls being a multi-cornered battle, the BJP is allowing the entry of leaders from other parties as well as those suspended from the party.
