Ambala Lok Sabha Elections: Congress Hopes to Capitalise on Farmers' Anger, BJP Banks on Saini Switch

The Ambala (SC) Lok Sabha constituency is one of 10 parliamentary constituencies in Haryana. The seat is reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates and comprises entire Ambala and Panchkula districts as well as part of Yamunanagar district. Nine Assembly segments fall under the Ambala (SC) Lok Sabha seat, of which five are currently held by the BJP (Panchkula, Ambala Cantt, Ambala City, Jagadhri and Yamunanagar), while four are held by the Congress (Kalka, Naraingarh, Mulana-SC and Sadhaura-SC).

Polling Date — May 25, 2024; Phase 6

Sitting MP — Rattan Lal Kataria (BJP)

Candidates — Banto Kataria (BJP), Varun Choudhary (Congress)

Political Dynamics

• Ambala has traditionally witnessed a direct contest between the Congress and the BJP (or its earlier version Jana Sangh) since 1967.
• This time, too, the contest is mainly between the BJP and the Congress, which is fighting the election as part of the INDIA bloc.
• Given the farmers’ anger against the BJP over the farm bills protest and now over the MSP demand, the Congress is at present ahead in the race in Ambala. But the recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi may help BJP catch up
• BJP: The saffron party is eyeing to retain all 10 parliamentary seats in Haryana after effecting a major shake-up in the state leadership in March this year.
• In Ambala, the BJP has fielded Banto Kataria, the wife of former Union Minister and three-time MP Rattan Lal Kataria, who passed away last year.
• In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Rattan Lal Kataria had defeated then Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee president Kumari Selja by securing 57% votes with a huge margin of about 3.42 lakh votes.
• Contesting her first Lok Sabha election, Banto Kataria is confident that the work done by the party’s “double engine” government and her husband’s legacy would ensure her victory.
• Besides, she has also been emphasising on the Modi government’s pro-women initiatives like the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, which provides for reserving one-third seats in the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies for women, Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana and the ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ scheme.
• She has been campaigning in different parts of Ambala parliamentary constituency, including Panchkula and Yamunanagar, and claims to be getting support from the people. She, however, acknowledged that the support she is getting is in part due to the legacy left behind by her husband.
• Rattan Lal Kataria, who was the BJP’s Dalit face in Haryana, represented Ambala in the Lok Sabha three times. The Ambala (reserved) seat had been lying vacant since he passed away last year.
• Bold Move with Saini: Just days before the elections were announced, the ruling BJP in Haryana sprung a surprise and replaced Manohar Lal Khattar with state unit president Nayab Singh Saini as chief minister.
• The CM switch comes a few months ahead of the Assembly polls, but the move is also seen as an attempt to consolidate Haryana’s non-Jat vote for the parliamentary polls.
• Saini is from the Other Backward Class community and will help in the consolidation of the non-Jat vote in the state.
• Simultaneously, the BJP also ditched the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), which came to its rescue when it failed to win a majority in the Vidhan Sabha after the 2019 Assembly polls.
• Pre-Poll Crisis: The saffron party has been going through turbulent times in the Haryana Assembly that threatens to muddy the waters when it comes to optics.
• The new Nayab Singh Saini-led BJP government had won the confidence vote in March but three Independent MLAs who supported it switched loyalties to the Congress earlier this month, reducing the Saini government to a minority in the 90-member House which has a current effective strength of 88.
• Top ministers and party leaders maintain the state government can prove its majority in the Assembly if the Governor issues a direction to hold a floor test.
• BJP leaders claim that some members of the Jannayak Janata Party will extend support to the government even though the BJP-JJP alliance has ended.
• But the JJP leadership has categorically stated it wants the Saini government to go.
• In the present Assembly, the BJP has 40 members and also enjoys the support of two Independents and the lone MLA of the Haryana Lokhit Party.
• The Congress, JJP and the INLD have approached Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, seeking the dismissal of the “minority” government.
• There are minimal chances of the floor test taking place before Lok Sabha voting in Haryana, but the perception that all is not well for the BJP doesn’t bode wellduring general elections.
• Farmers’ Ire: The BJP’s souring ties with the farming community in North India since the 2020 protests is a major election factor in Haryana and neighbouring Punjab.
• Farmers have been holding protests against BJP candidates during their Lok Sabha polls campaigns to seek answers about their demands not being met.
• On April 27, a group of farmers protested against BJP’s Ambala candidate Banto Kataria during her campaign in Naggal village.
• The protesters asked Kataria why the farmers marching towards Delhi to seek a legal guarantee on minimum support price for crops were not allowed to proceed to the national capital and press for their demands.
• Gurmeet Singh Majri, district president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Shaheed Bhagat Singh), and other protesters also asked why barricades were erected at the Shambhu border point and why force was used against the farmers marching to Delhi.
• Aseem Goyal, the Ambala City MLA and the minister of state for transport, tried to placate the farmers but they continued to protest.
• Congress: The Congress is contesting on nine seats in the state this time, including Ambala, and has left the Kurukshetra seat for the Aam Aadmi Party as per the INDIA bloc seat-sharing in Haryana.
• In Ambala, it has fielded its sitting Mullana MLA Varun Chaudhary, the son of former Haryana Congress chief Phool Chand Mullana.
• In his speeches during campaigning in Ambala, 44-year-old Chaudhary has been highlighting the Congress’ Lok Sabha manifesto, focusing on five “pillars of justice” and 25 guarantees under them.
• Chaudhary, who had got the best legislator award for 2020-21, has alleged that under BJP rule public transport system in Ambala has deteriorated and “drug menace has entered villages”.
• He also claims introduction of digital portals, such as the Parivar Pehchan Patra (family id) by the BJP government, has added to the woes of the common people.
• On May 3, two-time Haryana chief minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda promised to set up an Institute of Management Technology (IMT) in Ambala to promote industry and employment if the Congress is voted to power.
• Jobs for more than 2 lakh youth in Haryana, minimum MSP guarantee and debt-waivers for farmers, 300 units of free electricity, gas cylinders for Rs 500, 50% reservation in jobs for women and Rs 1 lakh annually are some of the other promises being pitched by the grand old party in Ambala.
• Caste Factors: Ambala is known to have a sizeable population from the Saini caste. The decision to make Nayab Singh Saini the Chief Minister will help the party net the Saini caste votes in the constituency. Other Haryana seats where the move may benefit the BJP in general elections are Kurukshetra, Yamunanagar, Hisar and Rewari districts.
• The saffron party may, however, end up ceding slim piece of its vote share to the JJP.
• Dalits make up around 25% of the electorate in Ambala, with Sikhs, Rajputs, Jats and Brahmins among other communities. Many sub-groups within the Dalits are likely to side with the Congress though the BSP, which has also put up a candidate in Ambala, may make a mild dent.
• In a first, Haryana’s regional party, the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), has given the Ambala ticket to Sikh candidate Gurpreet Singh, a practising lawyer at Punjab and Haryana High Court in Chandigarh. The 28-year-old is a resident of Panchkula.
• The INLD putting up a candidate is not too good a news for the Congress which had been looking forward to sweeping Sikh votes in Ambala. The grand old party may still get majority of the Sikh votes here.

Key Constituency Issues

• Farmers Demands: In February this year, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha spearheaded a ‘Delhi Chalo’ march by farmers to press the government to accept their demands, including a legal guarantee on minimum support price for crops.
• The protesting farmers had been camping at the Shambhu and the Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 when their march was stopped by security forces.
• Besides a legal guarantee for MSP, the farmers are demanding: Implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations; Pension for farmers and farm labourers; Farm debt waiver; No hike in electricity tariff; Withdrawal of police cases and “justice” for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence; Reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act-2013; Compensation to the families of the farmers who died during the previous agitation in 2020-21.
• Poor Roads: Residents of several interior areas in Ambala have been demanding for few years of the poor condition of approach and local roads.
• Filled with potholes, the roads are prone to accidents, particularly during monsoons.
• While the administration has been in a rush to repair the roads, locals have been demanding permanent fixes instead of stop-gap measures.
• Unemployment: The slow pace of industrial growth is also among local concerns. As a result, youth from Ambala are forced to move out of their hometowns in search for jobs.
• Locals say their next parliamentary representative should do more on getting investments to the districts for job and wealth creation.

Voter Demographics

SC — 24.15%

Sikh — 9.39%

Muslim — 5.61%

Male Voters — 10,51,443

Female Voters — 9,35,635

Transgender Voters — 76

Literacy rate — 71.13%

Major Infra Projects in Ambala

• Airport at Ambala Cantonment: In October last year, then Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar laid the foundation stone of a domestic airport in Ambala Cantonment.
• The civil enclave — a military airbase area allotted for civil aviation use — was sanctioned under the UDAN scheme.
• The airport — touted as the dream project of then Haryana home minister Anil Vij, a six-time MLA from Ambala Cantonment — will be established on 20 acres, alongside the Air Force Station.
• Khattar had said the airport will further increase Haryana’s connectivity with other states and also spur economic activity. It can also act as a support facility for the Chandigarh airport, he had said.
• The airport, once completed, will also use the already-existing runway of the Ambala Cantonment Airport Station for landing of commercial aircraft.
• The Union Ministry of Defence has agreed to allow the use of the Air Force airstrip for civil aviation. The ministry also allotted about 20 acres of its land to build the civil enclave, with the Haryana government paying Rs 133 crore.
• The Public Works department of the Haryana government has issued a tender worth Rs 16 crore for the construction of a terminal building.
• It has separately approved Rs 25 crore for other works at the airport.
• Ambala-Chandigarh Greenfield Corridor: This is a 32-km-long road that will connect the airport crossing to the Kurali bypass.It is part of the Mohali Master Plan and is intended to help decongest the Airport Road and other roads.
• As of December 2023, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has acquired 80% of the land needed for the project.
• Railway Projects: In February this year, PM Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of seven rail overbridge/underbridge projects worth Rs 150.48 crore under the Ambala Division.
• The projects were meant for Yamunanagar, Ahmedgarh, Barara, Qila Raipur, Jamalpur Shaikhan, Uklana and Himmatana areas.
• Vande Bharat Services: As of December 2023, as many as five Vande Bharat trains halt in Ambala.
• The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Vande Bharat Express on the New Delhi-Katra route and another on the Amb Andaura-New Delhi route stop at the Ambala Cantonment Railway Station.
• The Vande Bharat train between Dehradun and Delhi halts at the Saharanpur Railway Station.
• The latest Vande Bharat trains to halt in Ambala are the Katra to New Delhi Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Vande Bharat and the Amritsar-Delhi Vande Bharat. Both of these stops at the Ambala Cantonment railway station.
• Ring Road Project: In June last year, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari laid the foundation stone of the construction work of Ambala Green Field’s six-lane ring road project at village Jandli in Ambala district.
• The total length of this project is 23 km with an estimated cost of around Rs 1,100 crore.

Explore in-depth coverage of Lok Sabha Election 2024 Schedule, Voter Turnout, Upcoming Phase And Much More At News18 Website