With the starting of nomination filing process and the polls drawing near, the saffron Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) is on its toes to accomplish its mission 2024 and in order to fulfill the same, the party high command has directed the state party leadership to ensure victory on all 10 parliamentary seats with a sizable margin. Ahead of the polls, several party heavyweights believed to be disgruntled due to different factors in Ahirwal belt falling in South Haryana. Meanwhile, the candidates of all the parties are filing nominations in the presence of their party heavyweights, but in the meantime, due to the widened rift and differences, the issue of keeping the stalwarts refraining themselves from the nomination and campaign of the party candidates continues to remain in discussions. In this series, it is pertinent to mention that Rao Inderjeet who is believed to have unilateral hold in the South Haryana Known as Ahirwal belt, remains in the talks in the state politics refraining from the nomination filing program of BJP Bhiwani-Mahendragarh Lok Sabha candidate Dharambir SIngh. Dharambir SIngh accompanied by Irrigation Minister and former IAS, Ahbay Singh Yadav, an arch-rival of Rao Inderjeet and the former Education Minister Rambilas Sharma filed the nomination contrary to the expectations, Abhay Singh Yadav who has been at loggerheads Rao Inderjeet over the battle of dominance in the South Haryana for a long time, remained present on the occasion leaving everyone stunned.
It is a noticeable fact as well visible from the political developments of the last 10 years that Rao Inderjit and Dharambir Singh are on good terms. Before the finalisation of the ticket, in view of the weakened claim of Dharambir as a candidate from the Bhiwani-Mahendragarh Lok Sabha seat, Rao Inderjeet strongly advocated for Dharambir extending support to him which led to fielding him from the seat. Since, the Congress has declared Rao Dan SIngh, a confidant of Bhupender Singh Hooda who also hails from the Yadav community, the constituency is most likely to witness a close fight.
Likewise Rao Inderjeet and Abhay Singh Yadav, the Congress candidate Rao Dan Singh and Kiran Chaudhary have been eyeball to eyeball as Kiran was stalking claim on Bhiwani-Mahendragarh Lok sabha seat but denied. Disgruntled with the same, she indicated not to support Rao Dan Singh in polls. Amid this, she extended support to Rao Dan Singh urging people to cast their franchise in favor of Congress contenders. However, political analysts think that there is a lot of difference in extending support and converting words into action.
Apart from parliamentary polls, through the stronghold of Rao Inderjeet, the BJP eyeing victory on 10 to 14 assembly seats in Ahirwal belt namely Narnaul, Nangal Chaudhary, Gurugram, Sohna, Badshahpur, Pataudi, Nuh, Rewari, Bawal, Kosli, Mahendragarh, Firozpur Jhirka and Punhana but it would be an uphill task to accomplish the target without the support to Rao Inderjeet Singh. Thus, in view of Rao Inderjeet’s stronghold in Ahirwal belt, the BJP does not seem in a position to neglect him ahead of polls as it can result in huge political loss on the part of the BJP.
Everyone is pretty aware of Rao Inderjit’s hold among as well as stature in South Haryana, but for some time now Rao Inderjit has had to face challenges in his bastion Ahirwal. Despite repeated efforts, the BJP has failed to bring the ongoing battle for supremacy between Rao Inderjeet and Abhay Singh Yadav to an end. However, given the differences between the two, the BJP high command and the state party leadership came up with a calculative move as well as a strategy to strike a balance as well as stop polarization of power in the Ahirwal belt in the Ahirwal belt. Inducting Abhay Singh Yadav in the state cabinet recently also does emerge a part of the aforesaid strategy in the state. Although, there are no differences or rifts between Abhay Singh Yadav and Dharambir and in view of this, Rao Inderjit’s keeping distance from the nomination of Dharambir Singh is also being seen as political mileage by reducing the displeasure of the opposition stalwarts within the party to some extent.
But for a long time he has been building pressure on the state as well as 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, BJP has been giving back to back blows to Rao Inderjit Singh in a bid to decentralise the power and hold among the party leaders. As a part of this, the arch-rivals of Rao Inderjeet Singh namely Bhupender Yadav, Sudha Yadav, Santosh Yadav, Arvind Yadav and Randhir Kapdiwas have been given key positions in the state as well centra in a bid to decentralise power in south Haryana in recent times.
