Leading the Congress’ campaign for the October 15 Assembly elections, party president Sonia Gandhi accused her opponents of misleading the electorate during the parliamentary polls by making them believe “that nothing had been done in India since Independence.”
“Have they done anything to stop price rise or create jobs for our youth. What happened to their promise to bring black money back from abroad within 100 days?” she asked.
“A decade back you voted out the regime in which might was right. Only if you vote for us again can we establish a model of development as an example for others,” Ms. Gandhi told the crowd.
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda told the supporters not to be misled by “the person with the magic wand” but to re-elect the Congress to continue agricultural subsidies and economic growth.
Meham shot into limelight in 1990 when political violence rocked the town during the Assembly by-elections. Thirteen people, including an independent candidate, were killed and former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala was named an accused but later acquitted.
Mr. Chautala’s opponent then, Anand Singh Dangi, is seeking re-election for a third time as the Congress MLA of Meham, which is a segment of the Rohtak parliamentary constituency. The Congress holds all the nine assembly segments and led in seven during Lok Sabha polls earlier this year.
The Congress, which is attempting to score a hat-trick at the polls faces a strong challenge from the Indian National Lok Dal and a resurgent Bharatiya Janata Party.
