Neglect of Farrukhnagar infra sparks voter discontent ahead of polls

Once a flourishing fortified town, Farrukhnagar under Badshahpur constituency, with its rich history and grand architecture of palaces and havelis, has fallen into disrepair, leaving residents frustrated with years of neglect from public representatives. The town’s historic remnants, like the iconic Dilli Darwaza, serve as reminders of its glorious past, but today, locals say Farrukhnagar has been reduced to an urban village, lacking modern infrastructure and basic amenities for its estimated 55,000 population. 

The most significant pledges made to voters, by Badshahpur contestants, included the construction of a Bypass Road, a stadium, a bus terminal, a 100-bed hospital in Sultanpur, and the upgrading senior secondary schools in the area, they said, adding that none of these projects has materialised. 

Krishna Kumar, a Sultanpur resident who works at a garment shop in the Farrukhnagar main market, questioned the delay in building the hospital that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced during the 2019 inauguration of the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway. 

“The college did come up, but its quality is not enough to fetch jobs for the youths of Farrukhnagar. Meanwhile, the land for the hospital was acquired, but not a single brick has been laid yet while our PM has started his third term,” Kumar added. 

Key candidates and voter disillusionment 

The primary contest in the region is between the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Rao Narbir Singh and Congress’s Vardhan Yadav. Singh, who previously served as the local MLA from 2014 to 2019, is facing stiff competition,said political analyst Anil Arya. The widow of the late Rakesh Daultabad, Kumudini Rakesh Daultabad, is also expected to capture a significant portion of the vote in Farrukhnagar, which has a voter count of around 14,000, the Haryana politics expert added. 

According to Arya, Rao Narbir Singh has a strong chance of garnering majority votes in the upcoming Haryana elections due to his extensive experience and popularity in the region.

Despite Singh’s tenure seeing some improvements, such as the construction of internal roads and sewers, many voters remain unconvinced. Arun Jain, a senior representative of the Jain community, expressed frustration over the unfinished Bypass Road project. “Heavy vehicles move through the Farrukhnagar main road throughout the day, causing damage and making it a hazard for commuters,” he added. 

Jain said that the internal roads and sewer lines were constructed during the tenure of Singh between 2014 and 2019. “Even then, voters are not leaning heavily towards Singh this time. The development that the area witnessed during Singh’s tenure were localised at specific areas, leaving people from other part of Farrukhnagar unsatisfied with the state of civic infrastructure. Meanwhile, the people of the lower strata are impressed by how Yadav is making a stronger ground connection with voters by walking through narrow lanes and interacting directly, while Singh is mostly seen driving past on the main road,” he said. 

Infrastructure promises unfulfilled 

Rakesh Chauhan, a resident, pointed to the four acres of land acquired five years ago for a bus terminal, which remains undeveloped. “Instead of a world-class stadium, the acquired 6.5 acres of land has become a garbage dump. We will vote based on who can actually get these projects completed,” he said. 

Chauhan also highlighted the need for skill development and job opportunities for Farrukhnagar’s youth, adding that the BJP government’s central mandates have not translated into action on the ground. “Skill development of the youths must take place. These are among the mandates of the BJP government in the centre, but ground reality is completely different. Quality teachers must be posted, and there should be surprise checks of their work periodically,” he said. 

Meanwhile, Seema (single name), another voter, said Farrukhnagar had a rich past and salt traders used to make money here by producing salt from several wells located in a 250-acre government land in the pre-independence era. 

“The town had much better facilities and infrastructure when Gurgaon was not even known for its real estate. But today, we are far behind due to continuous neglect of the elected representatives and the successive governments, be they of BJP or Congress,” she added.