You had lost the last election to the present Rohtak MP. Why do you think the people will vote differently this time?
In 2019, the mood among people was different due to the Pulwama tragedy. I had lost by a narrow margin. Things have changed dramatically since then. The people of Haryana have suffered under the 10-year misrule of the BJP government at the Centre and in the state. There is record unemployment in Haryana, especially in Rohtak, record inflation and record corruption. The state government’s brutality against the farmers when they were protesting against the three farm law of the central government, and the handling of the protest by women wrestlers, whose demand for an FIR was met by dragging them on the streets of Delhi. People are yearning for change. The struggle by the Congress on people’s issues will help the party win all ten Lok Sabha seats and bring the party back to power in the state under the leadership of Bhupinder Singh Hooda sahab and Udai Bhan ji.
Your opponent says that you are fighting the Lok Sabha election, but you don’t have a PM face against Narendra Modi.
You see the bitterness reflected in the BJP’s campaign speeches and the lies that the party has started resorting to after the first two phases of polling shows they have realised that things are not going their way. People are asking about the promise of jobs, doubling farmers’ income, etc and they have no answer. The Congress is contesting the election in alliance with other parties and we are getting a good response. They have only one leader, we have many leaders and we will put forward the name at the right time.
The factionalism in state Congress had delayed ticket allocation and the central leadership had to intervene in candidate selection. Is the groupism affecting your election?
Like in any other party, there are multiple aspirants for a ticket. It happens in every party. The Congress is fighting unitedly in Haryana and the results will show it.
The JJP and three independent MLAs have withdrawn their support to the BJP government in Haryana. How is this impacting your election?
The people of Haryana are disappointed with the BJP government. This is the reason why the party changed its chief minister and deputy chief minister in the state. But this has not changed things for the party. People are still distancing themselves from the BJP. Because of the desertion, their government has lost the majority. The chief minister should resign and fresh elections should be held under the President’s rule. If the CM doesn’t resign, the Governor should dismiss the government. The supporting party has publically announced withdrawal of its support to the government. The Governor must take action.
You are a member of the CWC, how do you see the Congress performing nationally?
The Lok Sabha elections this time will throw up surprising results. The Congress will do better than anybody’s estimation.
‘People unhappy with BJP’
People of Haryana are disappointed with the BJP govt, hence the party changed its CM and deputy chief minister. But this has not changed things for the party. People are still distancing themselves from the BJP.