CHANDIGARH/NEW DELHI: BJP 's response to what seemed to be very strong anti-incumbency working against the Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP-JJP coalition govt started early, even before the Lok Sabha polls, and was ruthless: it dropped its CM (in March), who had been at the helm for nine and a half years, and JJP, its ally of over four years, to appoint Nayab Singh Saini as CM.
Saini (54), who like Khattar has an RSS background, belongs to an OBC community. This led to a consolidation of non-Jat votes that pushed BJP ahead of Congress in Haryana this assembly election.
BJP hasn't just notched its highest seat tally, it has also bagged its best vote share of 39.9%, beating the Modi wave performance of 2014 when it first formed govt in Haryana on its own. Its vote share then was 6 percentage points lower.
BJP had made clear that Saini would lead the party to the assembly polls as it focused on consolidation of non-Jat votes under its OBC leader. The Jat votes got split and INLD candidates hurt Congress nominees in many Jat heartland seats.
BJP leaders involved in the polls said the appointment of an OBC CM had allowed them to successfully win back a section of Dalits who had voted against the party in the parliamentary elections. "One of our successes was that we succeeded in changing the narrative of the Lok Sabha polls," a BJP leader said on condition of anonymity.
BJP also targeted Congress as being "anti-Dalit" and used the sidelining of Congress MP Selja by former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda to highlight the "treatment" of the Dalit politician, so much so that there was strong speculation that she would switch to BJP. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah, and other senior BJP politicians repeatedly highlighted "how Congress was mistreating a Dalit leader and woman". The Sirsa MP keeping her distance from the Hooda camp and not actively campaigning reduced Congress's appeal among Dalit voters.
Congress relied excessively on Hooda, granting him control over ticket distribution, which led to 72 of his supporters getting party nominations, crowding out Selja and Randeep Surjewala's supporters. This alienated sections within the party, causing dissatisfaction.
Hooda ignored strong opposition against some sitting MLAs and re-nominated unpopular candidates like Kuldeep Sharma and Jagbir Malik, which led to a backlash: 15 of the party's sitting MLAs were unable to retain their seats. BJP, in contrast, was ruthless, dropping sitting MLAs and ministers and nominating fresh faces.
Rivalry between Selja and Hooda over ticket distribution and candidature for CM created divisions within Congress, weakened its campaign, and sent the wrong impression to voters.
Congress had strong leadership but lacked the grassroots activists and micromanagement that BJP used to mobilise voters. RSS, which had kept away from the Lok Sabha polls, pitched in to help BJP.
Both BJP and Congress faced rebellions from candidates not granted nominations, but the saffron party managed to get more disgruntled candidates to withdraw their nominations.
After winning five of 10 Lok Sabha seats in June, Congress politicians had grown complacent and seemed to have assured themselves of victory. This led to a lacklustre campaign. BJP, however, was active, and support from Modi, Amit Shah, and a host of Union ministers and CMs of neighbouring states, imparted critical momentum to the state unit.
BJP's historic third consecutive win in Haryana against the narrative of a Congress comeback comes as a much-needed respite for the party, allowing it to regain momentum and reinvigorate its cadres ahead of crucial assembly polls in Maharashtra and Jharkhand this year, followed by Delhi and Bihar in 2025.
Saini (54), who like Khattar has an RSS background, belongs to an OBC community. This led to a consolidation of non-Jat votes that pushed BJP ahead of Congress in Haryana this assembly election.
BJP hasn't just notched its highest seat tally, it has also bagged its best vote share of 39.9%, beating the Modi wave performance of 2014 when it first formed govt in Haryana on its own. Its vote share then was 6 percentage points lower.
BJP had made clear that Saini would lead the party to the assembly polls as it focused on consolidation of non-Jat votes under its OBC leader. The Jat votes got split and INLD candidates hurt Congress nominees in many Jat heartland seats.
BJP leaders involved in the polls said the appointment of an OBC CM had allowed them to successfully win back a section of Dalits who had voted against the party in the parliamentary elections. "One of our successes was that we succeeded in changing the narrative of the Lok Sabha polls," a BJP leader said on condition of anonymity.
BJP also targeted Congress as being "anti-Dalit" and used the sidelining of Congress MP Selja by former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda to highlight the "treatment" of the Dalit politician, so much so that there was strong speculation that she would switch to BJP. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah, and other senior BJP politicians repeatedly highlighted "how Congress was mistreating a Dalit leader and woman". The Sirsa MP keeping her distance from the Hooda camp and not actively campaigning reduced Congress's appeal among Dalit voters.
Congress relied excessively on Hooda, granting him control over ticket distribution, which led to 72 of his supporters getting party nominations, crowding out Selja and Randeep Surjewala's supporters. This alienated sections within the party, causing dissatisfaction.
Hooda ignored strong opposition against some sitting MLAs and re-nominated unpopular candidates like Kuldeep Sharma and Jagbir Malik, which led to a backlash: 15 of the party's sitting MLAs were unable to retain their seats. BJP, in contrast, was ruthless, dropping sitting MLAs and ministers and nominating fresh faces.
Rivalry between Selja and Hooda over ticket distribution and candidature for CM created divisions within Congress, weakened its campaign, and sent the wrong impression to voters.
Congress had strong leadership but lacked the grassroots activists and micromanagement that BJP used to mobilise voters. RSS, which had kept away from the Lok Sabha polls, pitched in to help BJP.
Both BJP and Congress faced rebellions from candidates not granted nominations, but the saffron party managed to get more disgruntled candidates to withdraw their nominations.
After winning five of 10 Lok Sabha seats in June, Congress politicians had grown complacent and seemed to have assured themselves of victory. This led to a lacklustre campaign. BJP, however, was active, and support from Modi, Amit Shah, and a host of Union ministers and CMs of neighbouring states, imparted critical momentum to the state unit.
BJP's historic third consecutive win in Haryana against the narrative of a Congress comeback comes as a much-needed respite for the party, allowing it to regain momentum and reinvigorate its cadres ahead of crucial assembly polls in Maharashtra and Jharkhand this year, followed by Delhi and Bihar in 2025.
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