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Baroda assembly seat: In Jat-dominated Congress bastion, Hooda name looms large
Contestants from all major political parties for the assembly segment in Sonepat district are from the Jat community
Having failed twice with Olympic medallist and wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, a Brahmin, to win the Jat-dominated Baroda assembly seat, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded a Jat candidate this time with an aim to bag the seat for the first time.
Contestants from all major political parties for the assembly segment in Sonepat district are from the Jat community. The Congress has renominated Indu Raj Narwal, the BJP has fielded former Sonepat MP Kishan Singh Sangwan’s son Pardeep Sangwan and the Jannayak Janata Party has pitched its student wing INSO leader Deepak Malik.
There is also a Congress rebel Kapoor Singh Narwal, who in 2009 and 2014 had contested on an Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) ticket and is contesting as an independent this time.
Baroda was a reserved seat till 2005 and the candidates from Chaudhary Devi Lal and his son OP Chautala’s parties won from there between 1977 and 2005. Since then, the Congress has won from the seat. It is considered one of the safest seats for Congress in Sonepat district, where the majority of Jats belong to Malik and Narwal khaps.
In 2019, three-time sitting Congress MLA Krishan Hooda defeated the BJP’s Yogeswar Dutt, a 2012 Olympics bronze medallist. After Krishan Hooda’s death in 2020, the Congress nominated Indu Raj Narwal, who defeated Dutt in a bypoll by a margin of 10,566 votes.
The Congress’s sitting MLA Indu Raj Narwal is banking on Hooda’s popularity to win again even though he is facing some resistance from Kapoor, who has managed to win over some local Congress leaders. He said Kapoor was fielded by the BJP and people of his constituency want to see Bhupinder Singh Hooda as the next chief minister.
“Kapoor and his aides are irked as I belong to a poor farmer’s family. The voters are wise, and they know that only Hooda saheb can carry out developmental works in the constituency. There is a direct fight between the Congress and other opponents. People will vote to make Hooda saheb the CM,” he added.
Addressing a gathering at Jagsi village in Baroda, 66-year-old Kapoor Singh burst into tears, saying, “This is my last election as I am suffering from cancer. I have been in social service for the last 40 years and despite suffering from cancer, I continued my social interaction. With folded hands, I request you to vote for your brother.”
Voters appeared to be divided between the two Narwals.
Captain Hooda of Moyi Hooda village said former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had betrayed Kapoor. “He asked him to withdraw his nomination in the 2020 by-poll and announced to support the Congress saying he would get a ticket in 2024. The Congress cannot get votes in the name of Hooda anymore,” he alleged. Indu said no such promise was made.
Anil Commando, a PhD scholar, resident of Kathura village, said that the BJP has neglected the constituency in the last 10 years and only a Congress government can only take this area forward. “The farmers are in distress and waterlogging is another issue. The youth from the villages are moving abroad through illegal routes and the crime rate is very high,” he said, highlighting the poll issues in the constituency.
