Haryana Assembly elections: Dissent, conflicting surveys delay BJP's candidate list

For the past one week, the BJP high command had been dragging its feet on releasing the list of 67 candidates for the Haryana Assembly elections even as the names are said to have been cleared at the party’s Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting on August 29.

The suspense ended late on Wednesday, but not before the week-long delay triggered insinuations and rumours in a party known for its discipline. Speaking to The Tribune, BJP state president Mohan Lal Badoli said the names couldn’t have been announced before the conclusion of the discussions. He refused to comment on whether infighting delayed the list or there were any last-minute changes.

Sources, however, said the state leadership was involved in hectic parleys with the high command until the names were made public. More so as scores of ticket aspirants continued visiting the Delhi houses of party bigwigs, including Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda.

Several factors were at play, said a few BJP leaders on anonymity. They said the import of prominent leaders from other parties triggered discontent among the BJP cadre, who feared the new inductees might influence the ticket allotment at the cost of old-timers.

The Rao Inderjit Singh factor too contributed to the delay, they said. The Ahir leader, wielding considerable influence in several seats of the NCR’s Ahirwal belt, has been staking claim to the top post and was eyeing at least a dozen seats, including one for his daughter Arti, said sources. Another reason was the varying winnability outcome of different surveys, including the one conducted by Kurukshetra MP Naveen Jindal, whose mother Savitri Jindal was eyeing the Hisar ticket.

A CEC member said it was probably the first time in his 40-year-long association with the BJP that the list was delayed for a week after being cleared by the top poll committee. “We seem to be paying the price for the ‘Congressisation’ of the BJP. Blackmailing and open revolts are now the norm. Influential leaders pressure the high command to change candidates, sending wrong signals to the party cadre and the electorate,” he rued.

The sources said the trouble started immediately after the finalisation of the list by the CEC as Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh had reportedly submitted his own list of about a dozen candidates for the politically significant Ahirwal region. The induction of four former JJP MLAs, Ambala Mayor and the son of an influential former minister complicated the matter.

The BJP’s move to shift certain leaders from their traditional strongholds to accommodate turncoats too didn’t go down well with the party cadre. In some seats, BJP workers threatened to boycott the “outsiders”. BJP kisan morcha chief Sukvinder Sheoran resigned after being denied the ticket from Dadri.