Ahead of elections, Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, on Sunday, declared reduction in VAT on mustard cake from 5% to 2% at a state-level vyapari sammelan. He said VAT on pulses would also be scrapped while molasses would be exempted from the market. "The top three honest tax payers among traders in every district will be honored by the government every year, as traders are the back bone of development in the state," he said.

Lashing out at the Modi government in the Centre, Hooda said, "People are disillusioned with the Modi government because he did not stick to his promises and burdened people with price rise." He described the INLD manifesto as a bundle of lies.