Pataudi Located around 29 kilometres from Gurugram, Pataudi is among the four assembly constituencies that fall in the district. Once a princely state, the nawab of Pataudi had executive authority over the area until 1947. Three decades later, after the reorganisation of the districts in December 1972, Pataudi was made a part of the Gurgaon tehsil. The town is largely a rural belt, where most people are into agriculture, but over the years, it has also become a hub of warehouses.
A part of the Ahirwal region, the town has Yadavs (ahirs) in a majority and it is a reserved seat. The constituency is a stronghold of Gurugram member of Parliament Rao Inderjit Singh, who exercises considerable influence among the voters.
The seat will see a contest between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress, with independents giving a tough fight. The BJP dropped the incumbent MLA Bimla Chaudhary in favour of Satya Prakash Jrawta, who contested as an independent in 2009 and later joined the BJP in 2014. Congress, on the other hand, has fielded Sudhir Chaudhary, while the JJP has fielded Deep Chand. Narender Singh Pahari, who is associated with the RSS and was expecting a BJP ticket, is also in the fray as an independent.
Ahead of the polling, people raised their concerns about unemployment, poor transport and lack of higher educational institutions in the area. At an informal chaupal session near Jamalpur Road, a group of men bemoaned the lack of jobs. “Unemployment is the biggest issue. Not just here in Pataudi, but in the state as well. The government is good for zamindars (landowners) but not for the common people. There is slowdown everywhere and all vegetables have become expensive,” said Amrit Singh, 70, a resident of Uncha Majra village.
{{/usCountry}}Ahead of the polling, people raised their concerns about unemployment, poor transport and lack of higher educational institutions in the area. At an informal chaupal session near Jamalpur Road, a group of men bemoaned the lack of jobs. “Unemployment is the biggest issue. Not just here in Pataudi, but in the state as well. The government is good for zamindars (landowners) but not for the common people. There is slowdown everywhere and all vegetables have become expensive,” said Amrit Singh, 70, a resident of Uncha Majra village.
{{/usCountry}}Singh, however, said that it is difficult to predict if the dissatisfaction with the government would translate into votes for other candidates. His views were supported by Prabhu Duggal, 70, who said that people would vote for the BJP despite being unhappy with the choice of candidate. “Earlier today, a bus was stationed here to take people to the chief minister’s election gathering. Nobody went for it. People are not happy with the candidate, but this is Inderjit’s region and they might vote for his sake,” said Duggal.
He said that while people were not happy with the choice of the candidate, they are positive about Narender Singh Pahari. “He is associated with the RSS and is a dharmik person. He goes around with a simple bag, which people appreciate,” said Duggal.
A few kilometres along the same road is the Pataudi Anaj Mandi, a major granary in the district. Most voters here spoke favourably of the BJP government and choose to give importance to national issues over local ones. “We don’t like the candidate but we will vote for Modi. He took a landmark decision by abrogating Article 370,” said Vijay Pal Yadav, 52, a landowner, as others around him chimed in agreement.
“There is no major problem in the area. We are satisfied with Modi,” said another landowner.
A few kilometres from the mandi, however, are villages, whose residents seek development in their respective areas.
Pinky, a resident of Jori Khurd village, said that the lack of transport is a major issue in the area. “Sometimes, we have to wait for an hour to get a bus. Ola and Uber services are also not available here,” she said, while she was waiting along with her mother-in-law for a bus to Gurugram.
In the nearby Jori Kalan village, Neelam Devi expressed despair over the lack of higher education institutes and jobs. “My children are educated but don’t have a job. They end up helping me in the fields. My younger ones will also complete school in the next few years, but I don’t have the resources to send them outside. How can we call this development?” said Devi.
She said that she is yet to decide on her choice of candidate, but would opt for one who promises to create jobs.