New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi – fresh from celebrating a comeback win in the Haryana election Tuesday evening – was back firing barbs at the Congress this morning, accusing his rival of being an “irresponsible party” and labelling it a “factory to spread hatred”. The Congress, he raged, wants to “create fear among Muslims” so it gets minority community votes. “BJP has won the Haryana election… but in Maharashtra we have to get a bigger victory,” the PM declared as he launched his party’s next poll campaign.

The BJP’s “historic” win – it became the first party to win three consecutive terms in the heartland state – “shows the mood of the country”, he said as he inaugurated infra projects in poll-bound Maharashtra, where his party is allied with factions of the Shiv Sena and NCP.

“The Congress is doing politics of hatred… Congress is bent on destroying the country. We all have to be aware and cautious. I am sure the people of Maharashtra will give a befitting reply to all forces bent on destroying the society,” Mr Modi said via a video link.

“I am sure the people of Maharashtra will unite and vote for the BJP and the Mahayuti government (referring to the BJP-Sena-NCP trio headed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde).”

READ | “First Time In Haryana Party Is Coming Back For 3rd Term”: PM Modi

Maharashtra (and Jharkhand) are scheduled to hold state elections this year. 

In the former the Congress’ poor showing in Haryana has invited scathing criticism from the Shiv Sena faction led by ex-Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, whose party is expected to sit down to discuss seat-sharing with its two allies – the Congress and Sharad Pawar’s NCP.

READ | “Arrogant, Overconfident”: Allies Twist  Knife On Congress’ Haryana Loss

The Congress’ Haryana and J&K results will not go down well in these talks.

Meanwhile, the PM also attacked the Congress for trying to “spread lies among the Dalits”, criticising the party for looking to “snatch reservation from them (the Dalits) and distribute them to their vote bank”.

“Entire ecosystem of Congress is about misleading the public. They tried to spread lies among Dalits but Dalits realised Congress will snatch reservations from them and distribute them to their vote bank. So Haryana Dalit community gave record support to BJP…”

READ | “Congress Minorities’ Biggest Enemy”: PM Flags “Key Issue” Of Quotas

The PM has frequently lashed out at the Congress on this issue – particularly in the run-up to the general election earlier this year – alleging it plans to tinker with existing quotas to benefit Muslims.

The Congress has just as frequently denied the allegation.

The Congress’ manifesto for the Lok Sabha election guaranteed increased reservation for marginalised groups, including Dalits, past the Supreme Court’s 50 per cent cap.

READ | “Its Best Friend…”: M Kharge On  BJP’s “Muslim League Imprint” Jab

That guarantee was slammed by the BJP as an “imprint of the Muslim League”.

In his speech the Prime Minister also accused the Congress of having “instigated” the farmers of Haryana, who joined their brethren from Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and other states in their lakhs to protest against the centre’s farms laws and insist on legal backing for MSPs.

“Farmers of Haryana are happy with farmer-friendly schemes of BJP. Congress also tried to instigate youth. They all trust the BJP for a bright future… Haryana has shown they will not fall prey to the hatred conspiracies of the Congress and its urban Naxal allies…” the PM said.

With input from agencies

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New Delhi:

A Rs 2,000 monthly assistance to women in the 18-60 years age group and a statewide caste survey are among promises made by the Congress in its manifesto for the October 5 Haryana election.

The state Congress unit released the manifesto today at a Delhi event attended by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge. Addressing the media, Mr Kharge said, “We are making seven guarantees and we will fulfill them. We have many more promises. They will be announced in the 53-page manifesto to be released in Chandigarh.”

Among the promises are LPG cylinders at Rs 500, Rs 6,000 pension for the elderly, widows and persons with disabilities and implementation of the Old Pension Scheme for government employees. The Congress has also promised 300 units of free electricity and free medical treatment up to Rs 25 lakh. To the youth, the Opposition party has promised 2 lakh jobs and an addiction-free state.

The Congress has also promised 100-yard plots for free for the poor to build homes. There is also a plan to provide two-room homes at Rs 3.5 lakh.

In promises targeted at farmers, Congress has said it will give a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price for crops and provide immediate compensation for crop damage.

In its promises to ensure social justice, the Congress has said the creamy layer threshold in the OBC category will be raised from Rs 8 lakh a year to Rs 10 lakh a year. The party has also promised a statewide caste survey if it comes to power in Haryana.

Haryana Congress chief Udai Bhan said Haryana was the country’s topper in development during the Congress rule. “The Congress will again make Haryana No 1 in employment, industrialisation, agriculture, sports and law and order,” he said, adding that crime became Haryana’s identity during the BJP rule in the state.

The Congress is gearing up to take on the incumbent BJP in the election to Haryana’s 90-member Assembly. Votes will be counted on October 8.

In the 2019 state election, BJP had emerged as the single-largest party with 40 seats. The Congress had won 31 seats. The Opposition party, upbeat after its good show in the Lok Sabha election, is hoping for a comeback to power in Haryana this time.

New Delhi:

The Aam Aadmi Party has released a first list of 20 candidates for next month’s Haryana Assembly election, including naming 11 to contest seats against the Congress. A second list will be released soon, the AAP’s state chief, Sushil Gupta, said, suggesting the end of any alliance with its INDIA bloc ally. 

Last week Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s outfit was in ‘wait and watch’ mode amid stalled seat-share talks. The two parties reached an ‘in-principle’ agreement last month to re-form an alliance that stopped the BJP from a second successive clean sweep of the state’s 10 Lok Sabha seats.

However, talks hit a roadblock over the number of seats to be allotted to the AAP; the Delhi party reportedly wanted at least 10 but the Congress was only willing to give up seven. On Saturday the Congress’ state-in-charge, Deepak Babaria, said his party would offer only a “small number” of seats.

The following day the AAP’s Raghav Chadha spoke of “desire, wish, and hope for an alliance” from both parties, but warned a deal might not happen, saying”… if there is no win-win situation, we will leave it…”

Nevertheless, he said he was optimistic about reaching an agreement.

New Delhi:

The Congress and the BJP both face hiccups in finalising candidates for next month’s Haryana election, sources told NDTV Friday, days after the former began seat-sharing talks with the AAP, seeking a revival of the INDIA alliance that won five of 10 Lok Sabha seats in April-June.

As far as the Congress is concerned, as it was with seat-share talks with other opposition parties before the Lok Sabha election, there is disagreement between state and central leaders. Congress leaders in Haryana are unwilling to concede too many of Haryana’s 90 seats.

Differences have also emerged, sources said, over which seats the AAP can get; some of those identified by Arvind Kejriwal’s party are those to which the Congress’ influential former Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda expects to nominate his loyalists.

The Congress and the AAP announced an ‘in-principle’ deal on Wednesday.

This was after Rahul Gandhi urged his party to form an alliance with the AAP to guard against the division of votes. Mr Gandhi has been clear that it will take a concerted effort by the opposition to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP, whether in central or state elections.

In early exchanges the AAP wanted 10 seats but the Congress would offer five to seven only, with another likely to go to Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party, another INDIA member.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha election in Haryana the Congress contested nine seats (and won five) and left the tenth to the AAP, but Mr Kejriwal’s party failed to wrest Kurukshetra from the BJP.

Sources said the Congress has pointed to this, and that wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia will contest on its tickets, to claim it has the best chance of defeating the BJP.

BJP’s Haryana Election Issues

The BJP, meanwhile, faces internal squabbles after naming a first list of 67 candidates, with Jails Minister Ranjit Chautala and MLA Lakshman Napa quitting after being denied tickets.

Mr Chautala has said he will contest as an independent candidate, while Mr Napa met Congress leader Hooda at his residence and said he would join that party.

READ | Denied Haryana Poll Tickets, BJP Minister And MLA Quit Party

Ranjit Chautala is the son of Devi Lal Chaudhary, one of the state’s tallest and most respected political leaders, who was also twice Chief Minister and served as Deputy Prime Minister.

Mr Chautala was hoping to contest from Rania – the seat he won in 2019 as an independent but quit to join the BJP and contest the Hisar Lok Sabha seat, which he lost.

The BJP fielded Shishpal Kamboj instead.

Meanwhile, Karan Dev Kamboj has resigned as chief of the BJP’s OBC Morcha state unit after also being denied a ticket. “Perhaps the BJP does not need loyalists anymore,” he said, taking a swipe at the party for giving tickets to former rival leaders who have recently joined the party.

READ | On BJP’s Haryana 1st List – Jail Officer Who Gave Ram Rahim 6 Paroles

A significant name in the BJP’s first list is former prison official Sunil Sangwan – had who granted Dera Sacha Sauda chief and rape convict Ram Rahim parole a staggering six times.

When Is Haryana Election?

The Haryana Assembly election will be held on October 5. 

The election was first scheduled for October 1 but it was deferred by the Election Commission to honour the voting rights and traditions of the Bishnoi community, for whom a festival – the centuries-old Asoj Amavasya festival in remembrance of Guru Jambeshwar – is on October 2.

READ | Haryana Poll Dates Revised To October 5, Counting 3 Days Later

The Bishnois represent a sizeable voting community in at least three districts of the state.

Therefore, results for the Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir elections – the first in the former state since 2014 – will now be announced on October 8 instead of October 4, the poll body said. 

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