Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda is four hours behind schedule, but the number of supporters waiting outside Silana village has only grown.
As he arrives, excited men and women rush to offer him blessings.
He urges them to vote his father, Bhupinder Hooda, back to power and moves on amid chants of Teesri baar, Hooda Sarkar (Hooda government for the third time). “My vote goes to Hooda,” says Raj Singh, 65, a farmer. He is referring to the Chief Minister, though the Congress candidate here is Jaivir Kharkhauda.
“Our family used to vote for Devi Lal till 2004. Then, we started voting for Hooda,” adds his neighbour Balwant Singh.
Voters across Haryana often speak in terms of the clans they vote for rather than the candidates.
“Nalwa, Hansi and Adampur will go to Bhajan Lal,” says Virender Kumar of Hisar, where the Haryana Janhit Congress formed by Bhajan Lal’s younger son Kuldeep Bishnoi, after breaking away from the Congress, is said to be strong. His brother and wife, too, are contesting.
The three Lals — Bhajan Lal, Devi Lal and Bansi Lal — are no more, but their families continue to thrive in politics and seek votes in their names.
“People vote in the name of Chaudhary Bansi Lal whether it was for the Congress or the Haryana Vikas Party,” says Somvir Singh, Bansi Lal’s son-in-law. Bansi Lal’s son Ranbir Mahindra and daughter-in-law Kiran Chaudhary, too, are in the fray.
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi campaigns in Haryana for the BJP urging voters to shun political families, he is up against a phenomenon that has deep roots.
The State’s politics has been dominated by a few clans since it was formed in 1966. Between them, the Lal clans and Hooda have ruled as Chief Ministers for 44 years or held Union Cabinet posts. Devi Lal’s regional clout got him the Deputy Prime Minister’s post in 1989.
Even the BJP has been forced to keep family affiliations in mind while giving the ticket or welcoming defectors. Former Congress general secretary Birender Singh is Jat leader Chhottu Ram’s grandson. His wife, Prem Lata Singh, is pitted against Hissar MP Dushyant Chautala, Devi Lal’s grandson, in Uchana Kalan. The MP’s mother, Naina Singh, is contesting from Dabwali and uncle Abhay Chautala from Ellenabad — both family strongholds.
Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh, who left the Congress and joined the BJP, is former Chief Minister Rao Birender Singh’s son. He has secured the party ticket for his daughter Arti Rao from Rewari. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s sister Vandana Sharma is making her political debut from Safidon.
