Experts believe the BJP sought a multipolar election in Haryana, which could increase Congress’s electoral prospects.
New Delhi: With the completion of Assembly elections in Haryana, the Congress party, which is viewed as a frontrunner to win the Assembly elections, is expected to have a substantial increase in its vote share due to the reduced existence of smaller parties, such INLD, JJP and BSP.
According to political experts based in the state, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wanted the elections to be multipolar so that the people do not only have two options, this would help the grand old party strengthen its electoral footprint in the state.
A political observer said, “If Congress gets majority and the smaller parties like Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), which are Jat parties, lose their electoral presence, there will be long term implications to it. Congress would become a greater force where it will have no other party in the state that can cut into its vote share. Moreover, such type of regional parties, if they lose an election, most of its cadre gets demotivated and a lot of its leaders try to find an exit gate.” According to a Congress leader in the state, the saffron camp had tried hard to make the elections happen in such a way, where the regional parties would either help in dividing votes or to make them solid enough on some seats, and defeat the grand old party.
He added, “But we think that the elections have not happened their way. It had become bipolar. And Congress will benefit from it.”
A political consultant in Haryana said, “Actually there is no wave in favour of Congress. People do not want to vote for BJP this time and that is the reason why Congress is gaining traction, which can help the Congress party score better. Another reason that can help the grand old party add votes is the consolidation of Jat votes in its favour. The other regional parties like JJP have also lost its essence.”
He added, “If we talk about the performance of Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, he has tried to fix some issues in Haryana but he didn’t get enough time and therefore the scale of results seems already tilted towards Congress. But one never knows fully about Congress. There goes so much politicking in everything that the party fails to maintain its momentum towards the end.”