Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09NEWDELHI1769
2009-08-21 15:08:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy New Delhi
Cable title:
HARYANA: DODGING DROUGHT, RIDING WAVES
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UNCLAS NEW DELHI 001769
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PTER PREL PINR KDEM IN
SUBJECT: HARYANA: DODGING DROUGHT, RIDING WAVES
REF: A. NEW DELHI 1747
B. NEW DELHI 1261
UNCLAS NEW DELHI 001769
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PTER PREL PINR KDEM IN
SUBJECT: HARYANA: DODGING DROUGHT, RIDING WAVES
REF: A. NEW DELHI 1747
B. NEW DELHI 1261
1. (U) Summary: Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda
of the Congress Party announced on August 21 that he has
recommended dissolution of the state legislature and early
elections to the state assembly. The state Governor must
accept his recommendation. Originally scheduled for February
2010, the Haryana elections will now most likely occur in
October 2009, coinciding with state assembly elections in
Maharashtra and Arunachal Pradesh. The Election Commission
of India is expected to announce the precise dates soon. End
Summary.
2. (U) The ruling Congress Party currently holds an
overwhelming 62 out of 90 total seats in the assembly in
Haryana, a small but prosperous state bordering Delhi. The
principal opposition party is the regional Indian National
Lok Dal (INLD) with seven seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) was virtually wiped-out in the last Haryana assembly
elections, winning only one seat. Contacts report that the
Congress has a media blitz underway in Haryana, reminding
rural and agricultural voters of their pro-farmer policies
over the last five years. The opposition parties have yet to
get their campaigning act together.
Riding the Momentum
--------------
3. (SBU) Comment: The call for early elections in Haryana
was not unexpected. Most analysts have been predicting it
since the Congress Party swept the April-May 2009 Lok Sabha
(lower house of parliament) elections, garnering nine out of
the state,s ten seats (and leading in two-third of assembly
segments). In contrast, the BJP is in the throes of a
publicly played-out meltdown (Ref A). The INLD has slunk into
the background after failing to win a single seat in the 2009
general elections. All this makes it an opportune moment for
the Congress leadership to attempt what has seldom happened
in Haryana in the last 20 years -- back to back state
assembly election wins for one party.
Dodging Drought
--------------
4. (SBU) Comment continued: There might be more to the
Congress strategy than merely going on the offensive while
their rivals are on the mat. With many pockets in India
suffering from a truant and erratic monsoon and increasing
talk of drought, the Haryana government might be trying to
cash in its feel-good chips before it falls victim to the
economic downturn. End Comment.
ROEMER
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PTER PREL PINR KDEM IN
SUBJECT: HARYANA: DODGING DROUGHT, RIDING WAVES
REF: A. NEW DELHI 1747
B. NEW DELHI 1261
1. (U) Summary: Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda
of the Congress Party announced on August 21 that he has
recommended dissolution of the state legislature and early
elections to the state assembly. The state Governor must
accept his recommendation. Originally scheduled for February
2010, the Haryana elections will now most likely occur in
October 2009, coinciding with state assembly elections in
Maharashtra and Arunachal Pradesh. The Election Commission
of India is expected to announce the precise dates soon. End
Summary.
2. (U) The ruling Congress Party currently holds an
overwhelming 62 out of 90 total seats in the assembly in
Haryana, a small but prosperous state bordering Delhi. The
principal opposition party is the regional Indian National
Lok Dal (INLD) with seven seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) was virtually wiped-out in the last Haryana assembly
elections, winning only one seat. Contacts report that the
Congress has a media blitz underway in Haryana, reminding
rural and agricultural voters of their pro-farmer policies
over the last five years. The opposition parties have yet to
get their campaigning act together.
Riding the Momentum
--------------
3. (SBU) Comment: The call for early elections in Haryana
was not unexpected. Most analysts have been predicting it
since the Congress Party swept the April-May 2009 Lok Sabha
(lower house of parliament) elections, garnering nine out of
the state,s ten seats (and leading in two-third of assembly
segments). In contrast, the BJP is in the throes of a
publicly played-out meltdown (Ref A). The INLD has slunk into
the background after failing to win a single seat in the 2009
general elections. All this makes it an opportune moment for
the Congress leadership to attempt what has seldom happened
in Haryana in the last 20 years -- back to back state
assembly election wins for one party.
Dodging Drought
--------------
4. (SBU) Comment continued: There might be more to the
Congress strategy than merely going on the offensive while
their rivals are on the mat. With many pockets in India
suffering from a truant and erratic monsoon and increasing
talk of drought, the Haryana government might be trying to
cash in its feel-good chips before it falls victim to the
economic downturn. End Comment.
ROEMER