Sheela Bhatt’s column – The tables were turned by learning from the defeat in the Lok Sabha elections | शीला भट्ट का कॉलम: लोकसभा चुनाव में मिली हार से सबक लेकर बाजी पलटी

Sheela Bhatt senior journalist

Bharatiya Janata Party’s unexpected victory in Haryana can be explained in many ways, but the most important among them is that Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the defeat in this state in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections seriously and he and his party lost. Worked hard to win the game.

In particular, when the results of Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha elections snatched away the majority from the BJP at the Centre, Modi’s personality-cult was dealt a blow. The most difficult task in the game of politics is to regain the prestige that is lost due to the mandate. Modi understood that this was possible only through victory in the election results.

Facing a tough challenge in his political career, the Prime Minister used his ‘lifeline’ of the Haryana election event to regain his momentum. The result is that Haryana will now provide more stability and strength to their central government.

The mandate of Haryana should inspire the Congress party to introspect. Bharatiya Janata Party’s critics and media had almost unanimously predicted the Bharatiya Janata Party’s defeat in Haryana and the Congress had started preparing to celebrate the victory. But the Bharatiya Janata Party has won in a state where nurturing ‘anti-incumbency sentiment’ has historically been the nature of the people. At one time, Bhajan Lal had won 51 seats in Haryana, but by the end of his tenure, his stature became smaller. In 1996, people gave him only 9 seats.

Earlier, Devi Lal and Bharatiya Janata Party alliance had got 76 out of 90 seats here, but the people here have been habitually punishing their leaders. In the next elections they got only 18 seats. Bhupendra Singh Hooda himself had come to power in 2005 with 67 seats, but was out in 2014 with 15 seats.

In such a situation, BJP winning the elections in Haryana for the third consecutive time is such a political surprise that it is very difficult for analysts to understand at the moment. The party which got only 4 seats and 9 percent votes in 2009 has taken strong control of the state in just 15 years. Now the name of Haryana will also be included in the category of Hindi belt states like Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, where the saffron party has become the center point of politics.

When BJP won 40 seats and 36.5 percent vote share in the 2019 assembly elections, people were surprised, but despite all the difficulties, getting the third consecutive mandate in 2024 is an event which will not be forgotten. This time Bharatiya Janata Party won its highest number of 48 seats in Haryana and its vote share also crossed 38 percent. Many messages are being received from the Haryana Assembly election results.

Firstly, Haryana is also becoming a state with two-party politics. The other backward castes of the middle income group are silent on the surface, but they are moving forward with steady steps and are expressing their views through ballot papers.

On the other hand, Hooda’s dynastic politics has proved to be a weakness rather than a strength in Haryana, as anti-Jat people were worried about the increase in the number of Jats from police stations to government offices. Also, Congress’s lack of coordination at the grassroots level has also been completely exposed in the Haryana elections.

The curiosity is that this is seen more on YouTube than at the Panchayat or Municipality levels. Prime Minister Modi’s tough decision to replace Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar with Naib Singh Saini has worked, as the Other Backward Classes are confident that the Bharatiya Janata Party will protect them from the dominance of the rich and powerful Jats in the villages.

In these elections, Other Backward Class and Brahmin voters unitedly supported the Bharatiya Janata Party, while the gap in the votes of Jats and Dalits ensured its victory. (These are the author’s own views)

It is difficult to regain the prestige that is lost due to mandate. Modi understood that this was possible only through victory in the election results. The Prime Minister used the election event of Haryana to regain his influence.