Master strategist Shah does the trick, again

Scripting a new chapter in Haryana’s electoral history, the ruling BJP secured a hat-trick in the Assembly poll on Tuesday, the victory driven by the party’s Jat and non-Jat narrative and the meticulous planning by its “chief strategist” Amit Shah.

Bucking 10 years of anti-incumbency, the BJP successfully micro-managed the elections as Home Minister Shah ran a concerted campaign alongside his team of trusted lieutenants, including central minister Dharmendra Pradhan, party’s Haryana in-charge Satish Punia, general secretary (organisation) Phanindra Nath Sharma, state chief Mohan Lal Badoli and caretaker CM Nayab Singh Saini.

The BJP’s well-knit organisational set-up, especially ‘panna pramukhs’ and the parent organisation RSS, came in handy to deliver the results even as the Congress struggled in the absence of dedicated cadres. The welfare measures adopted for various sections, especially the downtrodden, by the BJP’s “double-engine” government in the state and at the Centre struck the right chord with Haryana voters.

BJP sources said non-Jat and urban voters voted for the party in large numbers, putting it in the driver’s seat on a majority of the seats. “With OBC face Nayab Singh Saini as the chief ministerial candidate, the BJP was able to polarise the OBC, upper caste and urban voters, besides the Dalits, to a certain extent to cobble together a winning combination,” a senior leader told The Tribune.

An analysis of the results showed the BJP bettered its 2019 tally of 40 seats and 37 per cent vote share by securing its highest-ever 48 seats and nearly 40 per cent vote share this time, largely due to good showing in its strongholds along the GT Road belt and the Ahirwal region.

Not only that, the BJP wrested at least half a dozen seats from the Congress in the Jat-dominated Sonepat, Rohtak and Jhajjar districts as well as other parts, including Jind and Hisar, where the community has a significant presence. The party’s strategy of making contests multi-polar in certain segments to benefit its own candidates and “BJP-friendly” nominees also paid off well, giving it a comfortable majority in the 90-member House.

In the run-up to the October 5 elections, the BJP had tried all tricks of the trade, including micro-managing booths through ‘panna pramukhs’, release of rape convict Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim and announcement of sops to woo voters, to retain power in Haryana.

BJP national spokesman Rajeev Jaitley said Haryana’s ‘kisan’, ‘jawan’ and ‘pehalwan’ (farmers, soldiers and wrestlers) voted overwhelmingly for the party’s agenda of development and good governance. “This victory will set the tone for the BJP’s wins in the upcoming Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Delhi Assembly elections,” he said.

A party leader said the credit had to be given to caretaker Chief Minister Nayab Saini too, “who put his heart and soul” into the campaign over the last about six months. The victory had also come as a shot in the arm for the three central ministers from Haryana, Manohar Lal Khattar, Rao Inderjit and Krishan Pal Gurjar, who put up a splendid show in their respective areas of influence, he added.

Fresh faces fare well

• To duck anti-incumbency, the BJP dropped several ministers and sitting MLAs
• It fielded nearly 40 ‘RSS-backed’ fresh faces; nearly half of them secured victory

Well-oiled machinery

• The BJP’s well-knit organisational set-up came in handy for the saffron party
• It included ‘panna pramukhs’ and parent organisation RSS
• The Congress struggled in the absence of dedicated cadres
• PM Modi’s promise of ‘double-engine’ governance too struck right chord with voters

Polarisation of votes

The BJP managed to polarise OBC, upper caste and urban votes — and the Dalits to an extent— after appointing OBC face Nayab Saini as the CM