South Haryana hasn't delivered a chief minister since 1967, when his father Rao Birender Singh was ousted from power. It's a legacy Rao Inderjit Singh is determined to reclaim.
In the heart of Rewari, the political nerve centre of south Haryana, Rao Inderjit Singh is staking his entire legacy on the assembly elections.
Making a hard push for regional dominance, Rao declared in a rally: 'This election isn't just any other -- it's about asserting the supremacy of south Haryana.'
The ambitions of the Union minister of planning and statistics and programme implementation run deep.
South Haryana hasn't delivered a chief minister since 1967, when Rao's father Rao Birender Singh was ousted from power.
It's a legacy Rao is determined to reclaim -- he's made no secret of his desire for the top seat in Haryana, a position he believes is rightfully his.
But for many voters, the story isn't that simple.
"This election is not about south Haryana's supremacy; it's about the personal stakes of Rao and the ruling BJP," says a visibly frustrated Kapil Singh, a 35 year old from Rewari.
A BJP supporter since 2014, Kapil now feels disillusioned because of Rao's focus on "personal political gains", especially his push to secure a ticket for his daughter Aarti Singh Rao.
"Supremacy means real representation and jobs, not just winning seats for family members," he adds.
For voters like Kapil, Rao's narrative of regional dominance rings hollow.
Despite the fact that south Haryana contributes over 30 per cent to the state's GSDP, according to locals, promises of development and water security in the region remain unmet.
Also, landholdings are shrinking and job opportunities are drying up.
Ankit Kumar from Atali, where Rao's daughter Aarti is contesting, is equally sceptical.
"Rao ki beti ko pakki ticket, lekin hume kacchi Agniveer (Rao ensured that his daughter got a party ticket. But we got Agniveer, a scheme under which young people are recruited into the military service for just four years)," Kumar quips. "Will this bring supremacy to us?" he asks.
Sensing the growing resentment, the BJP is scrambling to woo voters, promising impartial recruitment and stable government jobs for Agniveers.
At a rally in Gurugram, Amit A Shah promised 'pakki pension wali sarkari naukri (permanent government jobs with pensions)' for Agniveers while vowing to eliminate corruption in recruitment.
South Haryana holds immense political heft. The region includes three key Lok Sabha seats -- Gurugram, Faridabad, and Bhiwani-Mahendragarh -- which together make up 27 Vidhan Sabha constituencies.
The BJP has historically dominated here, sweeping all three seats in the last three general elections in 2014, 2019, and even in 2024 when its overall performance in the state saw a dip.
In the 2019 state elections, the region delivered 16 seats to the BJP, even as the party's overall tally in Haryana dropped from 47 to 40.
To keep its hold on voters, the BJP has leaned into a narrative of the Congress's failures in the region.
The party claims that the Congress undermined south Haryana's prospects when it was in power -- a message that still resonates with many.
Mahesh Yadav from Manesar vividly recalls the "caste-based bias" under Congress rule, pointing to the infamous 2012 Maruti Suzuki violence.
"There were instances when unrest was deliberately stirred up to deter investors from entering the Ahirwal region," he asserts.
Suresh Sharma, a retired banker from Rewari, is cautious about the prospect of the Congress returning to power.
"Voting for the Congress would bring the Jats back to power, and we all remember the job and land scams under Om Parkash Chautala and Bhupinder Singh Hooda," he says. "While one has faced justice (Chautala), the other surely will soon."
The BJP has also bolstered its ranks by welcoming Jat leader Kiran Choudhry from Bhiwani.
She has been rewarded with a Rajya Sabha seat, while her daughter Shruti Choudhry has secured a Vidhan Sabha ticket.
The party has reshuffled candidates on 20 of the 27 seats in South Haryana, reinstating five candidates who ran in 2014 but were denied tickets in 2019.
The Congress, on the other hand, has steadily gained ground in the region, increasing its seat count from two in 2014 to seven in 2019.
This time around, Rao faces a challenging task with the BJP looking to recapture the all 11 Yadav-dominated assembly seats in Gurugram, Rewari, and Mahendragarh.
After making a clean sweep in 2014, the party lost three key seats in 2019.
As the election battle intensifies, south Haryana is in focus: Will Rao Inderjit Singh and the BJP be able to reassert their dominance, or will discontent among voters shift the political landscape?
The stakes couldn't be higher.
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
