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Haryana assembly elections: It’s experience vs young blood in battle for Mullana
The reserved segment is known for having a close contest with low victory margins in every election, but this time the contrast between the two contenders is evident in terms of experience and campaign style
For the first time in its electoral history, Mullana assembly segment is witnessing a battle between two women candidates fielded by the Congress and the BJP. The reserved segment is known for having a close contest with low victory margins in every election, but this time the contrast between the two contenders is evident in terms of experience and campaign style.
On one hand is 69-year-old Santosh Chauhan Sarwan of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). A seasoned politician, she was the first woman MLA elected from Mullana in 2014. She had won from Dabwali on a Congress ticket in 1991 when she was 36 years old. She slipped into political oblivion before re-entering the political arena a decade ago on the BJP ticket.
Pitted against Sarwan is Congress’s 38-year-old Pooja Chaudhary, a first-time contender and the wife of the recently elected Ambala member of Parliament, Varun Chaudhary. Varun had won the assembly election from Mullana in 2019 and vacated the seat this year on becoming the MP.
Pensioner vs petrol pump owner
In their affidavits filed before the Election Commission, Sarwan, whose son is an IAS officer, described herself as a pensioner, while Pooja cited her primary occupation as petrol pump owner.
While Sarwan graduated in arts in 1986 from Magadh University in Gaya (Bihar), Pooja is a 2008-batch law graduate from Panjab University, Chandigarh.
With movable and immovable assets valuing over ₹10 crore, Sarwan also owns a pistol worth ₹25,000. Pooja, on the other hand, owns assets worth ₹20 crore, including agricultural land, residential and inherited properties.
Chaudhary family turf
The Mullana assembly seat has been a stronghold of the Chaudhary family. It was first won in 1972 by Varun Chaudhary’s father, Phool Chand Mullana, who won again in 1982 as an Independent, and in 1991 and 2005 as the Congress candidate. Phool Chand was also the Haryana Congress president from 2007-14 and served as a cabinet minister in the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government.
Varun has good relations with both factions of the party, led by Hooda and Sirsa MP Kumari Selja, despite his father’s proximity with the former and Ambala being the stronghold of the latter.
In 2019, Varun defeated Rajbir Singh Barara of the INLD by 1,688 votes to win the Mullana seat, while in 2014, Sarwan got 49,970 votes defeating Rajbir by 5,649 votes.
Confident Buaji
Greeted by an all-male gathering at Chapra village, Sarwan confidently held the fort. Addressed as Buaji (paternal aunt), the two-time MLA pointed to the foundation stone of the community centre with her name engraved on it. “I don’t want to recount what I did for people as the MLA here, but I will surely promise that development will continue to remain on top of my agenda,” she said.
She promised free solar panels in every house, a vision of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre. She said free ₹5 lakh treatment for all would be ensured under the Ayushman Bharat scheme.
Asked about her rival, Pooja, she termed the Chaudhary family “political dynasts”. “Woh log satta ke bhukhe hain (That family is hungry for power),” Sarwan said, adding “People elected him (Varun Chaudhary) as an MLA in 2019. He betrayed them in his hunger for more power. Now he brings his wife in his place to contest. He never spent a paisa from his fund for development. They are only here to loot and expand their wealth.”
She said she spent ₹1,650 crore towards the development of Mullana segment as MLA from 2014-19.
In husband’s shadow
A few kilometres away at Tamnoli village, Pooja Chaudhary was addressing a gathering that included a fair number of women and children keenly listening to her. She accused the Modi government of ignoring women’s safety and talked of the concern of youngsters in the country. “Students are disappointed due to paper leaks. The future of lakhs of students is at stake. There is rampant corruption, there are schools but no teachers,” Pooja said.
Just then her husband Varun Chaudhary entered the venue and Pooja hastily concluded her address that didn’t mention any local issue. Varun took charge of the stage and delivered a fiery speech, urging voters to elect his wife for development of the segment. “The BJP started the Agniveer scheme, has it benefitted anyone? They have only cheated youngsters and created unemployment,” he claimed.
Mullana segment in the backyard of Ambala district is well-connected and home to several private educational institutions, including a medical college.
A political greenhorn, Pooja gestured towards her MP husband when she was asked for her views about her rival, BJP’s Sarwan. Her husband didn’t comment on the BJP candidate but was quick to remind in a commanding tone, “Speak to me, not her.”
As for the voters of Mullana, the issues that matter include waterlogging in monsoon due to poor drainage, unemployment despite higher educational institutions in the vicinity, growing incidence of drug abuse and women’s safety.
