Haryana Election: Despite the wishes of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, an alliance between Congress and Aam Aadmi Party could not be formed in the Haryana assembly elections. Both the parties have released their separate lists. Rahul Gandhi definitely wanted an alliance with AAP in Haryana, but the powerful faction of former Chief Minister Bhupendra Singh Hooda in Haryana Congress was completely against it. Congress was not ready to fulfill the seat demands made by AAP and this was the reason that ultimately several rounds of talks between the two parties could not yield any favorable result.
The talks of alliance between AAP and Congress were proving to be a cause of worry for BJP. Now, with the alliance between the two parties breaking, BJP has heaved a sigh of relief. Due to the alliance between the two parties in the Lok Sabha elections, BJP could win only five seats, but now during the assembly elections, the division of anti-BJP votes can prove beneficial for the party.
Why the alliance could not happen despite Rahul’s wish
According to the discussions in political circles, AAP had demanded 10 assembly seats in Haryana but the Congress leadership was not ready to give that many seats. Congress was talking of giving only five and maximum seven seats. After this, AAP warned that no one should make the mistake of considering AAP weak in Haryana. Along with this, AAP also warned of fielding its candidates on all the assembly seats in the state.
Experts say that Rahul Gandhi was actually keen on an alliance with AAP but the local unit of Haryana was opposing it. Former Chief Minister of the state Bhupendra Singh Hooda has been continuously giving statements that this time in the assembly elections, Congress will be able to get a majority on its own. Along with Hooda, Haryana Pradesh Congress President Udaybhan, who is considered his supporter, was also against this alliance. In such a situation, no concrete result could come out of the talks of the big leaders of the party with AAP.
Breaking of AAP-Congress alliance is beneficial for BJP
Although the political path of BJP in Haryana is not considered easy this time, but the party will definitely benefit from the breaking of the alliance between AAP and Congress. Political experts also believe that if Congress had an alliance with AAP, the political path would have become more difficult for BJP. During the Lok Sabha elections in Haryana, Congress contested on nine seats while AAP fielded its candidate in Kurukshetra. In the election results, Congress managed to win five seats while AAP had to face defeat in Kurukshetra.
BJP, which had won all the 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state in the last Lok Sabha elections, was reduced to just five seats this time. After being in power for 10 consecutive years, the party is also facing the threat of anti-incumbency this time, but now the breaking of the alliance between AAP and Congress will pave the way for division of anti-BJP votes.
BJP’s vote share had fallen in the Lok Sabha elections
There are 90 assembly seats in Haryana. BJP has been in power for the last 10 years by winning the 2014 and 2019 assembly elections. In the 2019 assembly elections, BJP won 31 seats. In 2019, BJP was successful in forming the government due to its alliance with Dushyant Chautala’s JJP. Now the party’s alliance with Dushyant Chautala has broken and the party is trying to form the government on its own.
However, if we compare the 2019 assembly elections, there has been a huge drop in the vote percentage of BJP in the Lok Sabha elections. The vote percentage of BJP has dropped from 58 to 46, which is being considered a danger signal for the party.
In such a situation, the alliance of AAP and Congress could have proved to be more dangerous for BJP. The votes received by AAP candidates would have proved to be a problem for Congress. In such a situation, BJP leaders have heaved a sigh of relief as both the parties are contesting the elections separately.
Factionalism became a headache for Congress
Along with the break up of the alliance with AAP, factionalism in Haryana Congress has also become a big problem for the party. The most powerful faction in Haryana Congress is that of former Chief Minister Bhupendra Singh Hooda while the other faction includes MP Kumari Selja and Randeep Surjuwala. Hooda has had a lot of say in the distribution of tickets for the assembly elections. Earlier, during the Lok Sabha elections too, Hooda was successful in getting most of the tickets according to his wish.
However, Congress has not yet revealed its cards regarding the CM face. Party sources say that the decision on the CM post will be taken after the announcement of the election results, but the tussle for the CM post has already begun. Kumari Selja was also keen to contest the assembly elections, but the party leadership has refused to give ticket to any MP.
Despite this, Kumari Selja is showing her attitude and she says that the decision on the post of Chief Minister will be taken by the party high command. In such a situation, it is believed that the factionalism going on in the party can also affect the electoral prospects of the party.
