Chandigarh: Arti Rao, 45, daughter of Union minister and Ahir stalwart Rao Inderjit Singh, is fighting a battle of prestige as a BJP candidate in the Ateli assembly constituency in poll-Haryana’s Mahendergarh district. While it is her debut assembly election, Arti, an international skeet shooter, is locked in a multi-corner contest in which Congress and Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) have also fielded female candidates.
Anita Yadav, 60, who is the Congress nominee, has been an MLA thrice – once a chief parliamentary secretary (CPS) – in the then Congress government led by Bhupinder Singh Hooda. The JJP has fielded Aayushi Yadav, 37, a first-timer, who is niece of former minister and BJP candidate from Badshahpur seat, Rao Narbir Singh. She has, however, been a sarpanch of Shaharanwas village in bordering Rewari district.
Among other candidates is BSP’s Thakur Attar Lal, 66. He is contesting from the Ateli seat for the second time and had garnered more than 37,000 votes in the 2019 assembly election. He is said to have the backing of Rajputs and the cadre votes of BSP which puts him among the main players in the contest. Interestingly, Suneel Rao, who is brother-in-law of Bollywood actor Rajkummar Rao, who was earlier with BJP, is contesting on Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ticket.
The seat, however, has had BJP MLAs for the past two elections – Santosh Yadav, in 2014 and the sitting MLA Sita Ram who won in 2019 when BSP's Thakur Attar Lal had finished second. According to sources in the party, though Rao Inderjit Singh had been seeking a ticket for Arti in the past two polls, it is this time that she has been given the party ticket.
While Arti’s father Rao Inderjit Singh, a six-time MP and a four-time MLA, is a tall Ahir leader, her grandfather Rao Birendra Singh who was Haryana’s second chief minister. Rao Inderjit Singh is also the great-great grandson of Rao Tula Ram, a well-known freedom fighter of India’s first war of Independence of 1857. He is also leading the canvassing for her.
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Anita Yadav, on the other hand highlights various developmental works done in the constituency during her stint as MLA as well as the Congress rule. She is also banking on the strong anti-incumbency wave against BJP. Thakur Attar Lal and Aayushi, however, hit out at both Congress and BJP over the lack of development of the area during their rule.
SEAT PROFILE:
TOTAL VOTERS: 2,02,985
MALE: 1,06,568
FEMALE: 96,417
THIRD GENDER: NIL