The results of Haryana Assembly elections are yet to be announced, but the latest figures indicate Bharatiya Janata Party’s government for the third consecutive time. According to the data of ECI i.e. Election Commission of India, BJP is leading on 49 seats. 47 seats are needed for majority in the state. In the direct battle between BJP and Congress in the state, the opposition party seems to be lagging behind. There could be many reasons including Jat voters and internal strife.
Why did Congress get a shock?
Internal strife: Internal strife within the party and tension between the top leaders of the state could be a reason. Even before the elections, news of tug of war between Bhupendra Hooda and MP Kumari Selja for the post of Chief Minister had started emerging. There was speculation about differences from publicity to ticket distribution. Despite all efforts, Congress could not present a united face.
Regional parties and independents: Congress is slightly ahead of BJP in terms of vote share, but these figures did not seem to translate into seats. The margin of Congress’s lead in many seats is not much. This indicates that the presence of independent and regional parties has hurt the vote share. The special thing is that regional parties have failed to perform well. However, the final figures of the Election Commission are yet to come.
Non-Jat votes: According to media reports, Congress under the leadership of Hooda had focused especially on Jat votes, due to which non-Jat votes united in favor of BJP.
Silent mode of BJP: There are reports that silent work at the grassroots level went in favor of BJP. Whereas, most of the exit polls were indicating the departure of the BJP government from the state. The party had entrusted the task of campaigning to Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
BJP’s urban voters: In the last decade, BJP has succeeded in garnering support from the urban areas of Haryana. These include areas like Gurgaon and Faridabad. At present, BJP is leading in Gurgaon, Faridabad and Vallabhgarh.
