Haryana: Digitisation, Agrarian Distress, Agnipath Anger Become BJP's Key Challenges To Third Term

KARNAL/KURUKSHETRA: The BJP may be banking on its development track record to come up trumps in the Haryana Assembly elections, but the voters appear to be troubled by the state government's thrust on digitisation through family and property identity certificates. The BJP's act of bringing in Nayab Singh Saini as the chief minister in March in place of Manohar Lal Khattar appears to have addressed the issue of disenchantment against the state leadership, but not to the extent of guaranteeing a third consecutive term in office for the ruling party.

A tour of cities and villages along the Delhi-Ambala section of the National Highway-1 that passes through Haryana also throws up issues such as agrarian distress and anger against the Agnipath scheme that seeks to recruit youth for a period of four-years in the armed forces. "We have seen development projects in the state, every village has got good roads. But it is the Parivar Pehchan Patra and the Property id schemes that are proving to be troublesome," said Kirsen Kumar, a farmer in Chief Minister Saini's Ladwa constituency.

The Parivar Pehchan Patra or Family Identification certificate initiative was launched in 2019 by the then Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar for easier disbursement of social security benefits to 54 lakh families in the state. "There is no end to these IDs. Get your Aadhar card done, now get the family id and property id…and then keep making rounds of the government offices to make corrections," said Rajendra Singh Rabari, a farmer from Dyora village in Kaithal.

Rabari said that there were numerous errors in several family ids in the village and even a four-month-old child was shown to have Rs four lakh income per year. "The people want change and winds of change are blowing," he said. In the recent Lok Sabha elections, the BJP and the Congress won five seats each, which was an indication of the grand old party's rising graph in the state where it has been out of power for a decade.

A closer look at the Lok Sabha election results show that the Congress had emerged victorious in 46 of the 90 assembly segments, giving the party an edge in the October 5 state elections. The Congress is hoping to cash in on the anti-incumbency against the BJP-led government in the state and allegations of misgovernance against Manohar Lal Khattar, who served for 9.5 years as the chief minister.

The Agnipath scheme introduced by the NDA government for short term recruitment in the armed forces has become an election issue in Haryana where the youngsters look forward to a career in the military. Jarnail Singh, a farmer in Mundhri village in Kaithal, flagged the issue of Agniveer initiative and the anger against stopping regular recruitment in the armed forces.

"What do you expect these youngsters to do after four years of service in the armed forces?" asked Singh, claiming that there were fewer youth in the village opting for the armed forces. Putting up a brave face over the Agnipath initiative, a senior BJP leader in Karnal pointed towards the successes scored by the Israeli Army against Hezbollah and Houthi militants in West Asia.

"Look at Israel. Every home has a person who has served in the armed forces. See how they are succeeding against groups like Hezbollah and Houtis. It is because of Agnipath-like initiatives that they have for their armies," said Sunil Goyal, BJP district general secretary, Karnal. Goyal said he has been citing the example of Israel and the US in public meetings to explain the benefits of the Agnipath scheme.

"Agnipath will strengthen the nation and also give our army a younger profile," the BJP leader said. The farmers in the region, which is known as the producer of the finest basmati rice, are an aggrieved lot complaining about the lack of MSP for their crops. The wholesale markets are strewn with freshly harvested paddy but the sales are yet to pick up due to lack of good prices.

"The wholesale markets are offering Rs 1700 per quintal as against the MSP of Rs 2,320," said Naphe Singh, a farmer from Koul village near Kurukshetra.
Singh said many farmers have delayed harvesting paddy in the hope of better prices later. An upbeat Congress is campaigning hard in Haryana, but is riddled with internal differences that has forced local satraps such as Kumari Selja and Randeep Singh Surjewala to their pocket boroughs.