THE TRIBUNE INTERVIEW: ‘Naming CM face before polls gave us edge’
THE TRIBUNE INTERVIEW: Satish Poonia, BJP Haryana affairs in-charge
BJP’s Haryana affairs in-charge Dr Satish Poonia along with other key central leaders played a key role in the turnaround in fortunes of the party during the recent Assembly elections. Speaking to Deepender Deswal in Hisar, Poonia reveals the strategy that helped the party in scoring a hat-trick in the state despite facing several challenges and anti-incumbency in the run-up to the elections.
How did the BJP return to power in Haryana?
The BJP was being underestimated in view of the outcome of the Lok Sabha elections when we won five seats despite the opposition’s narratives of jawan, ‘kisan’, ‘pehlawan’ and ‘Samvidhan’. The BJP led in 44 Assembly segments in the Lok Sabha despite 10 years of the so-called anti-incumbency factor.
What was the strategy behind this turnaround?
We have a proper organisation, which the Congress lacks. Contesting elections is not a simple formula but it is engineering now. We embarked on an intensive campaign. We chalked out the strategy with the central and state leaders who were on the same wavelength. Going all-out in our quest for the victory, we targeted some specific seats. We backed our candidates and ensured close contests.
Did you expect these results?
We were banking on strongholds on GT Road (Nardak belt) and Ahirwal. The gap of about four months between the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections gave us time to plug some loopholes. We also had the support of ‘silent voters’. Besides, we worked on winning over the ‘floating vote’.
How was the BJP placed when the Assembly elections were announced?
Though some quarters ruled us out of the race, we knew that ours was not “a gone case”. The Congress’ vote bank had gone up drastically during the Lok Sabha poll. In the Assembly elections, we also increased our vote percentage by three points even as the Congress’ share too went up.
What was the key narrative of the BJP?
We declared Nayab Singh Saini as our CM face. It gave us an edge. But there was confusion and conflict in the Congress among various leaders like Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Kumari Selja and Randeep Surjewala.
Did raking up the Selja issue help you?
Every community has aspirations and the Dalits also saw a reflection of its hopes in Kumari Selja. The Congress, however, had given the reins to Hooda. Thus, the deprived section felt neglected. They either turned indifferent or shifted to us.
At what point, the BJP got the whiff of returning to power during the campaign?
We shifted the gears 15 days before the polling and hit the top gear just seven days ahead of the voting. Even on the polling day, BJP workers and cadre ensured that our voters reached the polling stations.
Was there any Jat versus non-Jat issue?
The BJP got support from all communities and that’s why we won in the Jat-dominated seats like Dadri and Badhra. We even won seats in Deswali, Bagri and Banger belts. Though we need to strengthen our organisation in Sirsa and Fatehabad.
What will be the formula in the government formation?
The party will ensure geographical and social balance in the government formation.
