Chandigarh, Sep 20 : Once again, the BJP and its principal rival, the Congress, are vying for the support of 2.03 crore voters in Haryana.

The BJP aims to achieve a hat-trick of victories, promoting its 'non-stop Haryana' vision and highlighting the advantages of a double-engine government.

Meanwhile, the Congress is also focussing on appealing to key demographics, including farmers, youth, and women, with various incentives and freebies.

BJP chief ministerial candidate Nayab Singh Saini is confident that the party will repeat its success by leveraging pro-incumbency, thanks to the effective implementation of Centre-supported infrastructure projects and schemes.

In contrast, the Congress' two-time Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is amplifying his critique of the government by highlighting issues such as 'unemployment, law and order, insufficient development, and unrest' among key voter groups, including government employees and farmers.

Other Opposition parties in the race include two prominent regional outfits: The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and its breakaway group, the Jannayak Janata Party, along with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has made 20 promises, but notably, these do not include commitments to waive farm debt or offer job reservations for women, despite the fact that more women than men have registered as new voters.

Interestingly, five of the BJP's promises overlap with those in the Congress' "7 Guarantees."

The BJP claims its 53-page 'Sankalp Patra' is more realistic with its resolve for 'non-stop development of Haryana' than its rival Congress' 'populist' manifesto.

The Congress says the BJP's manifesto has stamped failures of its own government as it could not fulfill promises made in the 2014 and 2019 polls.

Political observers told IANS that rising unemployment, deteriorating law and order, unrest among government employees and lack of legal mechanism for procuring crops under the Minimum Support Price (MSP) mechanism are major roadblocks for Saini's smooth sailing for his party's third stint.

According to the CMIE Consumer Pyramids Household Survey, Haryana had an exceptionally high unemployment rate in India at 37.4 per cent in August 2022.

Cashing in on this information, the Congress has been slamming the BJP government, which was at the helm till March in coalition with the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP).

This time, both the BJP and the Congress have laid special focus on the youth. Both have promised to create two lakh government jobs.

Going one step ahead, the BJP promises that they would create additional job opportunities for five lakh youths and under the national apprenticeship promotion scheme a monthly stipend would be given to the unemployed.

For farmers, the Congress has promised legal guarantee for crop procurement on the MSP, while the BJP promised continuation of purchase of 24 crops at the declared MSP.

Hooda, who is seeking votes on the basis of his 10-year stint (2004 to 2014) as the Chief Minister, describes the BJP dispensation as a 'government of failures and scams', which promotes 'divisive politics'.

Hooda told IANS that ever since the Congress went out of power, the state has been on a downward slide in employment and upward in crime, especially against women.

'A total of 3.95 lakh people are in the queue for the posts of sweeper with 39,990 graduates and 6,112 postgraduates among them. About 1.17 lakh 12th pass individuals have applied for the job. This is the status of unemployment in the state,' a confidant Hooda, whose party wrested five Lok Sabha seats from the ruling BJP, said.

'Today Haryana is number one in unemployment, law and order is going out of hand. Haryana, which was providing the most employment across the country during the Congress government, has been made number one in unemployment by the BJP,' he said, adding 'Before 2014, we (Haryana) were the number one state in terms of per capita investment.'

Countering the Congress, the BJP National President JP Nadda said after releasing the party's 'Sankalp Patra' that for the Congress this document (manifesto) is just a formality.

'What was the image of Haryana 10 years ago? The image of Haryana was that of getting jobs on the 'kharchi-parchi' (corruption-favouritism) system. Haryana was known for land scams, acquiring land of farmers, change of land use...For us the 'Sankalp Patra' is a sacrosanct document. We are serving Haryana non-stop.'

Taking a lead from the traditional arch-rivals, AAP Convener and then Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal's wife Sunita Kejriwal on July 20 launched five 'Kejriwal's guarantees' by promising free electricity, free medical treatment, free education, Rs 1,000 per month to every woman in the state and employment for youngsters.

Contrary to it, under its 'Lado Lakshmi Yojana' the BJP has promised that 78 lakh women voters aged between 18 and 60 years will get Rs 2,100 monthly. However, the Congress pledged Rs 2,000 per month.

Officials say if this promise is implemented the state would be spending roughly Rs 20,000 crore per annum on this scheme, a major drain on the exchequer.

The other prominent freebie is the promise to provide nearly 49 lakh homemakers with a subsidised cooking gas cylinder, costing Rs 500 both by the BJP and the Congress, besides a housing scheme for the poor.

'Only time will tell how the state pays an exorbitant price for the freebies,' a political analyst told IANS.

There are a total of 1,031 candidates in the fray for the 90 Assembly seats. Among them, 930 are men and 101 women.

Out of them, 462 are Independents, which include 421 men and 41 women. Haryana will go to the polls on October 5 with the ballot count on October 8.

(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in)

/IANS