‘D’ election game begins in Haryana with wordplay

The letter ‘D’ of the English alphabet seems to have caught the fancy of political parties ahead of the upcoming election season in Haryana. Setting the trend, Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently described the previous Congress government in the State as a “3D” government to which the Congress’s Haryana unit retorted with a “4D” jibe for the BJP. Not to be left behind, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) too joined the bandwagon saying that “drama” — another ‘D’ word — was a trait the two parties share.

The letter ‘D’ of the English alphabet seems to have caught the fancy of political parties ahead of the upcoming election season in Haryana. Setting the trend, Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently described the earlier Congress government in the State as a “3D” government to which the Congress’s Haryana unit retorted with a “4D” jibe for the BJP. Not to be left behind, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), too, joined the bandwagon saying that “drama” — another ‘D’ word — was a trait the two parties share.

The letter ‘D’, though traditionally associated in India with Mumbai underworld’s organised crime syndicate, first entered the political lexicon this time around when Union Home Minister Amit Shah at a rally in Sirsa last Sunday took a dig at former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda saying that his 10-year government in the State was a “3D” government – of “Darbaris” (courtiers), “Damad” (son-in-law) and “Dealers” (property dealers).

Although Mr. Shah did not name anyone, he made it amply clear as to who was the “Damad” by saying that he was talking about the son-in-law in Delhi. “Which son-in-law am I talking about? Have you understood or not? I am talking about the son-in-law in Delhi,” Mr. Shah said at the rally to a thunderous response.

The Congress fired back with Rajya Sabha member Deepender Hooda saying, at a press conference in Sirsa two days later, that the BJP’s policy was mainly driven by four “Ds” — “Divide and Rule”, “Divert”, “Deceive” and “Dacoity”. He said the BJP sowed seeds of “discord to gain power, deceived people on issues such as employment and doubling farmers’ income, diverted their attention from real issues and had robbed them of their hard-earned money by imposing heavy taxes”.

He also pointed out Mr. Shah repeatedly referred to his father and the former Chief Minister in the rally and posed questions to him even though the BJP had been in power in the State for nine years. “In a democracy, the Opposition asks questions, and the government is answerable. But even after nine years of being in power, the Home Minister’s speech gave the impression as if he was addressing a rally of the Opposition,” said Mr. Deepender.

However, taking a cue from the senior Hooda’s earlier statement that Mr. Shah was his friend, AAP, trying to find a political foothold in State politics for long, was quick to join the war of words. Saying that the Congress and the BJP were engaged in shadow-boxing and indulging in “drama” to seek votes, AAP senior vice-president Anurag Dhanda said the two parties were hand in glove and were fooling people by attacking each other in public. He added that the State needed a new alternative in the form of AAP.