Otherwise volatile, Haryana politics has, for the past sometime, been in relatively ‘sleep mode’. Mass rallies have become few. Political activity is mainly confined to the political parties lending support to protests the aggrieved sections of the people spontaneously hold to press their demands, particularly against the police.

Three main reasons can be attributed for the prevailing relative political calm. One is the rabi harvesting season which is now over. Second is the hot weather. Third is the state of the political parties. While the first two factors are periodical and will disappear in the next few weeks, the revival of political activity with the vigour Haryana is reputed for will depend on the state of political parties health.

The functioning of the Haryana Congress has been in limbo partly because of the central leadership’s failure to appoint a new PCC president. The party is also plagued with acute factionalism with the dissidents publicly raising their dissenting voices instead of voicing them in the party forums. The latest example is the absence of some of its ministers, MPs and several MLAs from the party’s ‘Maha sammelan’ held at Panchkula last week which was also attended by the AICC general secretary in-charge of Haryana affairs B.K. Hari Prasad.

The state’s main opposition party INLD has also not held many mass rallies. Otherwise known for his tireless campaigning, its supremo Om Parkash Chjautala is handicapped by the CBI-launched disproportionate assets cases against him and his sons.

About the BJP, the less said the better. It has not been able to recover from the crippling blow it suffered in the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections. Despite mainly being an urban based party, it could win only four seats, two less than even the INLD, in the recently held Gurgaon Municipal Corporation elections fought by both the parties on their party symbols. Former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal’s Haryana Janhit Congress which had won six seats in the Assembly elections has been losing ground. First five of its six MLAs defected to the Congress. Bhupinder Singh Hooda is now trying to make inroads into Lal’s traditional bastion Adampur. His recently held public function where he announced a number of development schemes for the area drew large crowds. The BSP has a very limited base in Haryana. Its sole MLA is supporting the government.

Skip political inactivity. It is the administration’s dismal functioning which may prove costly for the ruling party. The government takes decisions but their implementation is tardy often becoming a victim of red tape and corruption. What should be the cause of greater worry for the state’s ruling leadership are the instantly organised frequent roadblocks and demonstrations the aggrieved sections of the public instantly organise in support of their demands. The trend reflects the growing disenchantment of the people.

The worst culprit bringing disrepute to the government is the police. More than its inactivity in checking crime, it is its dysfunction and malfunctioning which are to be blamed for the worsening law and order situation and the peoples intense anger against the police. The latest case to symbolize the situation.

Sweety, a teen-aged Dalit girl was kidnapped, raped and murdered by unidentified youth on May 4 from the busy market place in Kurukshetra. The people had been holding protests, complete shutdowns and burning effigies of the government and senior police and civil officers for the police failure to arrest the culprits. The police set up a Special Investigation team and announced Rs.5 lakh cash award but failed to arrest the culprits till May 26. But in less than 48 hours of the state government’s decision to handover the case to the CBI, the state police claimed it had worked out the case and nabbed the alleged killers.

The family members of the accused have, however, claimed that their wards are innocent and have been implicated in the case. “They are being made scapegoat by the police to save its own skin and the real culprits.” They have demanded CBI inquiry. Even if the police claim of working out the case is treated as valid, the three weeks delay in solving it only reflects inefficient functioning of Haryana police strengthening the view that it acts only under public pressure.

The Sweety case may be an exception. But there is a widespread view that one of the main reasons behind the unsolved crimes in the country is the vested interest the unscrupulous police officials develop in their non-solution.

The outcomes of the last few years polls have created a valid impression that development, freebies and efficient governance have become the major factors in determining elections outcome. The examples quoted include those of Nitish Kumar-ruled Bihar and Narender Modi ruled Gujarat.

But development and generous freebies did not save the DMK from its electoral rout in Tamilnadu and Haryana Congress from failing to get an absolute majority in the 2009 Assembly elections. The administration’s lax functioning and poor governance played a major role in the ruling parties electoral setback in the two states.

The conclusion: It is testing time for Haryana’s ruling leadership. There are still three and a half years to go for the state Assembly elections. During the period, the opposition parties are bound to launch intensified offensives against the lapses of the Hooda-led government. Unless Haryana’s ruling leadership takes remedial measures to improve the functioning of its decision implementing instruments and civil and police administrations, the Congress would find it difficult to successfully fight its 2014 electoral battle. (IPA Service)