Haryana: It's advantage Hooda

If you're rich, Haryana is the place to live. Notwithstanding the urban chaos in Gurgaon (also a function of wealth), most parts of Haryana are affluent, the vehicle of choice is the Ford Endeavour or the Mitsubishi Pajero — both in the range of Rs 20 lakh and more -- and the quality of the roads is "European", as an awestruck union minister from the Congress described the state.

The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) hasn't really taken off in Haryana except in the poorest areas — because minimum wages all over the state are higher than what the scheme offers. Still, to utilise the funds, contractors have to be employed to bring labourers from other states. If you live in villages close to Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda's favourite areas  -- Rohtak, Hansi, Hisar,  -- you can be sure of smooth six-lane roads, impeccably cared for, down to the small patch of green in the divider.

It is not for anything that Hooda is one of Sonia Gandhi's favourite ministers and was projected as a model for others to follow at the party's conclave two years ago. He is a Jat but antithetical to other Jats like his primary rival Om Prakash Chautala, and his sons Abhay and Ajay. He never raises his voice, treats bureaucrats with respect and generally has a modern outlook on governance. The only aberration is the chief minister's secretariat — manned by bureaucrats who think all other bureaucrats are a notch below.

Haryana is essentially a farm economy -- and so is neighbouring Punjab. But look at the way the two states have handled their finances. Punjab is sinking deeper and deeper in debt. Haryana hasn't seen an overdraft since 2002 when Chautala was in power. Hooda resisted the temptation to spend his way to popularity when he came to power in 2005. The state now has one of the highest old-age pension schemes in India and the farmers have availed the benefits of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) with the increase in the price by over Rs 400 in the last five years. Some pockets of Mewat, continue to need development programmes.

But on the whole, Hooda has been good for Haryana, known to be a 'performing' chief minister. But with a few caveats. There are some things over which chief ministers never relinquish control. As in the case of other chief ministers like Mulayam Singh Yadav, Hooda too is simply unable to put a transparent system of recruitment in place. Till he came to power, head of departments (that is, bureaucrats) used to have the powers to appoint Class III and Class IV employees.

Now, even Class IV employees are hired by the chief minister. It is clear why. Government jobs continue to be prized above rubies, especially in the police and lower bureaucracy (i.e. clerks). What should be a process of recruitment through an eaxamination and interview has been reduced to just a matter of stuffing staff with his own people. If Hooda slips in the Assembly elections in 2010, it will be because of another version of the recruitment scam that saw the end of the Chautala-family rule.

Hooda's other blind spot is caste. In caste terms, there are only two groups in Haryana: The Jats and the non-Jats. The Jats are divided between Hooda and Chautala. The non-Jats thought they had a leader in Bhajan Lal but his waning popularity, after he left the Congress, has left them leaderless. If Hooda were to decide not to wear his caste-heart so prominently on his sleeve, it is possible that non-Jat castes might have viewed him as the best among the worst — the worst being Chautala, his cronies and his sons. Hooda's son, Deepinder, is a courteous, well-spoken young man in complete contrast to the Chautala cherubs. Deepinder has represented Rohtak in Parliament and is contesting again.

Hooda has two major adversaries in the party. Kiran Choudhary's access to 10 Janpath is now inconsequential -- as Hooda has access as well. But the more serious challenger is Birender Singh, who does not hide his antipathy towards the chief minister, although he is the finance minister in Hooda's cabinet. In January last year, at a public meeting in Jind on the development of assembly segments, Singh said: "Sara maal Rohtak ki taraf na kheencho, kuchh idhar bhi de do(don't send all the funds to Rohtak, spend some here too)". Hooda retorted: "Khajane ki kunji to tere pas hai, jitna chaho utna kharch karo. Iske liye tumhe kabhi nahi roka (The keys of the Haryana treasury are with you. I have never stopped you from spending money)." However, Hooda has been magnanimous to both his rivals. Although he was not in favour of Kiran Choudhary's daughter Shruti's candidature from Bhiwani this time, he is doing nothing to scuttle her chances either (although he has not visited the constituency even once to campaign for her). With Birender Singh, some barter deal is being negotiated.

Rohtak and Sonepat were never Congress seats: They were always won/retained by either the BJP or by Chautala's party. This time, as in 2004, the chances of the Congress getting both are high. Hooda's story in Haryana proves that gentlemen in politics don't always finish last.