Non-Jats hold the key in Sonepat

KARNAL: Will Kishan Singh Sangwan, the BJP candidate for Sonepat Lok Sabha seat, be third time lucky. Having won from this Jatdominated constituency twice, Sangwan is riding high on the anti-Chautala wave.
But the over seven lakh non-Jat voters can play a key role in denying him success. Staying aloof from any political activity, the community is not showing any interest in Sangwan''s campaign.The development ushered in by PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee is the BJP candidate''s pet theme.
He also promises more employment to educated youth.
Though the over four lakh strong Jat voters have showed support for Sangwan, the community''s divided loyalties with INLD candidate Krishna Malik, wife of Haryana DGP Mohinder Malik, Dharampal Malik (Congress) and Jagbir Malik (HVP) has the BJP candidate worried.
Krishna Malik''s interest in women education in this otherwise educationally backward area is standing her in good stead. She also hopes to garner votes of Jat community on the basis of chief minister Om Prakash Chautala''s development programmes in the area. But she has to contend with the anti-incumbency factor amongst non-Jats and government employees.
Also, the mischievous propaganda that policemen in plain clothes have been deployed here due to her husband''s influence is causing a big embarrassment to her. Irrespective of her inexperience in politics, she has still managed to earn the sympathies of elderly women.
Dharampal Malik till a few weeks ago was rated as an underdog. But because of his aggressive style of campaigning, he is now very much in the reckoning. Adept in catching the pulse of the constituency, which has mostly been anti-establishment, Dharampal does not miss any opportunity to attack the‘autocratic'' regime of Chautala. Besides assuring more jobs, he promises to further industrialise Sonipat area.
Jagbir Malik of the HVP rests his chances on public response to his meetings in Gohana and other areas. Though the Election Commission has denied him the party symbol of ‘girl and boy'' of the HVP, he enjoys the support of HVP cadres in the area.
He has also visited all villages of the constituency thrice. His hopes are pinned on non-Jat voters who are a deciding factor in the area when there are four Jats in the fray.
However, victory of any candidate in Sonipat parliamentary seat largely depends on the voting pattern in Baroda, Gohana and Rohat Assembly segments of the constituency.
In the three segments voters, invariably during all elections whether to assembly or Parliament, have been overwhelmingly voting in favour of only one candidate.