HARYANA BELLWETHER: A PROSPEROUS STATE WITH STRONG

C O N F I D E N T I A L NEW DELHI 000701 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/INS, DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/06/2018 TAGS: PGOV ECON EINV KDEM SENV IN SUBJECT: HARYANA BELLWETHER: A PROSPEROUS STATE WITH STRONG POLITICAL CHURNINGS REF: A. 07 NEW DELHI 5226 ¶B. 07 NEW DELHI 2583 ¶C. MUMBAI 40 Classified By: Deputy PolCouns Atul Keshap for reasons 1.4 (B,D) ¶1. (C) Summary: January 20-22, Emboffs traveled to Haryana to gauge the political, economic, and social climate of the state. Journalists and politicians alike described the pace of development as constant and fast in Haryana regardless of which political party leads the state, leading to overall state economic growth near 10 percent and to high per capita incomes. Haryana's economic success story is mostly happening near Delhi in Gurgaon and Faridabad and in the eastern part of the state. Though the current government has taken some small steps to expand development to the western part of the state, they appear insufficent to attract industry and balance growth throughout the state. Currently the state is run by the Congress Party under Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who was elected to office in 2005. Despite state assembly elections scheduled for 2010, political churnings are strong, with newly created parties and Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party's looking to make inroads. Caste and anti-incumbency will also play a critical role in upcoming Haryana elections. Hooda and his party will face a tough race in 2010 with growing discontent in the Dalit and Gujjar communities. Unlike states going to polls this year which are being looked at to set the political momentum for national elections scheduled in 2009, Haryana will look to the national elections as a political trend indicator for the state. End Summary. A Closer Look At Haryana -------------- ¶2. (U) On November 1, 1966, Haryana was created as a result of re-organizing the state of Punjab, with which it shares Chandigarh as its capital. ONE of the smallest states in India, it has a population of around 21 million (according to the 2001 Census). The state of Delhi is surrounded by Haryana on three sides. Consequently, a large area of Haryana is included in the National Capital Region (NCR). Haryana has the third highest per capita income in the country in large part due to the high profile cities of Gurgaon and Faridabad, both major hubs for the information technology and automobile industries. The state is currently governed by the Congress Party, led by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Haryana has a unicameral legislature with 90 seats, of which the Congress Party won 67 in the last state elections in 2005. During the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress Party won 9 of the 10 seats from Haryana. Owing to its proximity to Delhi, Haryana has been the recipient of significant foreign investment in IT and manufacturing industries, mainly clustered south of Delhi. Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda -------------- ¶3. (C) During a three day trip to Haryana, January 20 - January 22, interlocutors described Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda to Emboffs as a gentleman, a bureaucrat, and honest, yet lacking political experience. In 2005, needing a member of the predominant Jat tribe to lead the state, Congress President Sonia Gandhi installed Hooda as her man. Former Congress Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) D.D. Attri acknowledged that while most people are currently happy with Hooda, it is still early in his term because state elections are two and a half years away (scheduled for 2010). Hooda has tried to expand infrastructure and development to the western part of the state, away from Delhi and the popular Gurgaon-Faridabad area because Hooda's mother is from that area, Attri told Poloff. However, these initiatives may not be enough to counter uneven development, as growth will most likely remain focused around the NCR (septel). Despite Hooda being less corrupt than his predecessor, Om Prakash Chautala, from the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD),Hooda still favors Jats over non-Jats in doling out government positions, making him a target for criticism. According to Attri, while Jats in particular are happy with Hooda, non-Jats like Brahmins, Buniyas, Gujjars, and Dalits are increasingly becoming disgruntled and searching for leadership. ¶4. (C) Ramesh Vinayek, Bureau Chief of India Today in Chandigarh, echoed Attri's sentiments of Hooda. Vinayek added that Jats in Haryana represent approximately a quarter of the population and the Congress Party will have to figure out how to appeal to non-Jats in order to maintain power in the state. In particular, he added, Hooda and the government have been complacent in the face of a spate of violence against Dalits in Haryana since 2005. This will definitely hurt the Congress Party in any upcoming elections, Vinayek speculated, since the Congress Party victory in the previous election rested on a "large chunk" of the Dalit vote. Many Political Players -------------- ¶5. (C) Since 2005 Haryana's highly caste-sensitive political landscape, typically broken into Jat and non-Jat vote banks, has been shifting. Former Chief Minister and INLD head Om Prakash Chautala used to partner with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),but he lost the 2005 election as well as his alliance with the BJP due to heavy accusations of corruption. Chautala is a Jat and will need a non-Jat ally if he is to remain a political player in the state. Chautala's traditional hold on the Jat vote bank has been underminded by the Congress Party's selection of Hooda, a Jat, as Chief Minister. ¶6. (C) The BJP has not traditionally enjoyed a formidable presence in Haryana and has generally needed to find alliances with other parties in order to gain power in Haryana. It is unclear at this juncture with whom the BJP will join forces. It might be with Chautala again, but Vinayek described the break between the INLD and the BJP as particularly painful and bitter. ¶7. (C) Bhajan Lal and his son Kuldeep Bishnoi are upper caste non-Jats who broke from the Congress Party on December 2, 2007 to create a new political party, the Haryana Janhit Congress Party (HJC) (ref A). While most interlocutors described Bhajan Lal's HEALTH as deteriorating, they also say his son lacks political maturity to build the strength of the HJC. Attri criticized the father and son team for bad timing in splitting from the Congress Party. Though Bhajan Lal is a highly respected and powerful political leader in Haryana, Attri believed Bishnoi would not be able to establish a capable and fully functioning party in time for by-elections (Note: Since Bhajan Lal and Kuldeep Bishnoi broke with Congress a by-election must be held for their two state assembly seats and ONE Lok Sabha seat. End Note). Attri described their break from the Congress Party as potential political suicide for the family. However, while Attri was highly critical of the future for HJC, India Today's Vinayek gave a more positive perspective of the HJC. Vinayek described Bishnoi as politically keen and astute. The rally Bishnoi pulled together to announce the new party demonstrated media savvy and an ability to connect with the people, Vinayek explained. "He cannot be easily discounted," he summed up. ¶8. (C) Both Attri and Vinayek spoke of informal talks between Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the HJC. Attri emphasized that a coalition between Dalits and upper caste Hindus could be an unbeatable combine in the upcoming elections as non-Jats represent about 75 percent of the state population. Attri cautioned, however, that BSP leader Mayawati is testing the waters to see how powerful Bhajan Lal and his son actually are in Haryana. He also underscored that she will not join forces with HJC until later since she does not want to upset central Congress Party command which could create problems for her in her home state of Uttar Pradesh. India Today's Vinayek concurred with this timing calculus assessment. He questioned, however Mayawati's support in the state. He believes the BSP will struggle in Haryana since the BSP does not have local state leadership or organizational structure. Anti-Incumbency Strong in Haryana -------------- ¶9. (C) Tribune correspondent Sunit Dhawan noted that states which are holding elections in the coming months are being looked at as trend indicators for the national assembly elections, but Haryana is looking at the national assembly elections to determine the political trend for the state since its own election at the state level will not take place until 2010. In any case, Dhawan commented, anti-incumbency is strong in Haryana. According to him, the question posed in Haryana should be about the alliance that will be forged before and/or after the elections rather than which specific party will win, because it is unlikely any ONE party can emerge to form the government next time. Development Unstoppable but Not Inclusive -------------- ¶10. (C) India Today's Vinayek explained that regardless of which government is in power in Haryana, development and economic growth continue to advance. He described each political grouping as committed to wooing manufacturing and services businesses to the state. Haryana's location adjoining the national capial helps attract business to the the state. Again, alluding to Hooda's infrastructure initiatives in the western part of the state, Vinayek claimed Hooda is planting seeds to expand development from Gurgaon and Faridabad. Vinayek pointed to the inauguration of two new power plants and new roads in that part of the state as examples. Several interlocutors noted, however, that the two power plants are still years from being completed and that Haryana's fast growth has caused current energy needs already to exceed the targets set for the future, ensuring a continued energy deficit. Vinayek said that Hooda hopes these investments will mature in the coming years and help to offset the tide of anti-incumbency. This is wishful thinking, according to Vinayek, who also underscored the powerful influence of anti-incumbency in Haryana. Gujjar Reservations Demand Seeping into Haryana -------------- ¶11. (C) The civil unrest which rocked adjoining Rajasthan last year, where the Gujjar community demanded Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) status for employment and educational reservation benefits, has resonated with the Gujjar community in Haryana (ref B). According to former Congress Party MLA Attri, most Gujjar MLA's are part of the Congress Party, which explains why the issue has not publicly boiled up, as in Rajasthan. However, he noted that the Haryana Gujjar community is looking to see how the Rajasthani Gujjars settle their demands before taking the next step. He also believes Gujjars are growing increasingly disenchanted with the Congress Party leadership, which they view as strongly favoring the Jats. Challenges for the State Ahead -------------- ¶12. (C) Tribune correspondent Sunit Dhawan outlined a list of challenges the Haryana government will face in the coming years. He underscored the perennial demands for water, power, and highways to keep pace with economic growth and prosperity in the state. On education, Dhawan said Haryana faces the challenge of maintaining a skilled pool of labor, which companies like Lakshmi Precision Screws (LPS),also acknowledged. LPS Vice President Amit Jain spoke of sponsoring training programs at the local engineering colleges to address this gap in skills. Dhawan said while tension does not currently exist between the native population and the migrant labor force -- largely from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh -- there exists the potential of flare-ups similar to those recently seen in Maharastra (Ref C). Another challenge, he highlighted, is that rapid economic growth has increased pollution levels, which have led to environment degradation and increasing HEALTH problem. Companies must adhere to environmental standards which the state will have to legislate and enforce. Another problem has been that many diesel auto-rickshaws and buses which have been banned in Delhi have all ended up in Haryana, further damaging the environment in the state. Comment: Stable and Prosperous, Despite Politics -------------- ¶13. (C) Like most states, Haryana suffers from bureaucratic corruption and infrastructure challenges, however, Haryana is also ONE of the top Indian states which attracts investors and benefits economically. The current government does seem to lack an effective policy to expand investment and industry beyond the eastern corridor of the state, north and south of Delhi, leaving a huge portion of the state still mainly agricultural. This uneven distribution of economic opportunities in the state will remain a big challenge for whichever government is in power. ¶14. (C) Politically, the state is churning, with politicians airing their differences, breaking off and creating new parties, and evaluating their possible future alliances. Though it might be too early to ascertain which party or combine will come out on top in any election, there are a few factors which will influence Haryana elections, including anti-incumbency, caste politics, and coalition alliances. Hooda has been in power for two and half years and while people are generally happy with him for now, the tide of anti-incumbency will most likely creep forward closer to election time. Non-Jat, upper caste leaders Bhajan Lal and his son Kuldeep Bishnoi have two years to build the HJC and find coalition partners, which, given growing discontent among non-Jats in the state, could mean a shift in state leadership from Jats to non-Jats. If Mayawati's BSP joins forces with the HJC, adding the Dalit vote bank, they just might become unstoppable. Despite these churnings, Chautala cannot be discounted at this stage either. Though dstrusted for his corrupt government, the people of Haryana might be willing to forgive and forget in another two and half years time. In Indian politics, anything is possible. ¶15. (C) In the final analysis, Haryana, much like Punjab, shows how far the "bimaru" (sick) belt states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have to go to catch up with the relative prosperity and stability of Haryana. End Comment. MULFORD