Seating tight on alliances

Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala’s INLD may be the ruling party, but it doesn’t seem to have many friends. When the BJP supporte...

Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala’s INLD may be the ruling party, but it doesn’t seem to have many friends. When the BJP supported him in making Tarlochan Singh the minorities commission chairman, Chautala had hoped to work out an alliance. But the state BJP leaders have categorically refused to fight the Assembly polls with him. The INLD then tried to forge a tie-up with the BSP. Mayawati wanted 15 of the 90 Assembly constituencies, Chautala would give only 10. So the alliance didn’t work out. Now INLD leaders are hinting at the possibility of reaching some sort of an understanding with smaller parties. But nothing concrete has been worked out yet.

Disappearing district

Chautala hoped to gain some political mileage by carving out a 20th district — Satyamevpuram. But it hasn’t quite worked out the way he wanted. Caught unawares by the poll announcement, the CM called a Cabinet meeting to approve the formation of the new district, and posting of its District Commissioner and Superintendent of Police. But the Congress approached the Election Commission, and got the posting orders cancelled. Interestingly, the Congress claims credit for the idea of carving out a separate district of Mewat, which Chautala prefers to call Satyamevpuram.

War of words

Newly-elected Haryana PCC working president Randeep Singh Surjewala is raring to go. Soon after his appointment, he warned Chautala to start counting his days. He also levelled some serious corruption charges against the Chautalas, who took a full day to dismiss them as a bundle of lies. Although Surjewala had been challenging Chautala to contest from Narwana — from where he had once defeated the Chief Minister — he has now left the choice of his constituency to the Congress high command.

Party of Independents

Meanwhile, all the 10 Independents who shifted loyalties to the Congress are hoping to be rewarded with a party ticket. Over half of them had originally supported the Chautala government. But during the Rajya Sabha elections in the State, they crossed over to the Congress. Now, they are all busy making trips to the party headquarters in Delhi.