Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala has gone into overdrive with a series of pre-poll promises aimed at wooing different sections of voters ahead of the February assembly elections.

Chautala's insecurity over the elections can be gauged from the drubbing his Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) got in the April-May parliamentary polls. The Congress won nine out of 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state while one seat went to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

With an alliance between the INLD and the BJP being ruled out by the BJP, Chautala's government has upped the ante on announcements before polls are notified and a ban on such largesse comes into place.

In a major bonanza for unemployed youth, the Haryana government has announced 50,000 of them would be given jobs. Officials, however, said the posts were non-sanctioned ones and could become a liability for future governments.

Even as the central government is attempting to work out an unemployment allowance for youth, Chautala's government has gone ahead and done just that. The scheme would be implemented from Dec 1.

Subject to certain conditions like the parents of the beneficiary not being income tax payees, youths would get unemployment allowance of Rs.100 and Rs.200 per month depending on their qualifications.

To woo the aged electorate, the Haryana government has enhanced the monthly old age pension from Rs.300 to Rs.400 per month.

Chautala has also been extensively touring the state under the "government at your doorsteps" campaign. Funds are freely distributed during these tours in the name of development.

Taking the fight to the opposition Congress camp, Chautala recently got back to Haryana the personal belongings of Chhotu Ram, a social reformer and farmers' leader of pre-Independence days who liberated farmers from loan-debts.

Chautala's son Ajay Singh Chautala took the belongings around Haryana's Jat community-dominated areas for a display. The chief minister even presided over a function last week to commemorate Chhotu Ram's birth anniversary.

The Congress has so far been laying claim to Chhotu Ram's legacy. Congress leader Birendra Singh - who is an aspirant for chief ministership - is a distant relative of Chhotu Ram.

The Haryana government has announced several projects for supplying electricity to towns and villages across the state. Upgraded electricity sub-stations were being set up at several places. New schemes for providing drinking water are also being launched on a daily basis.

--Indo-Asian News Service