“JJP invites many Jat voters just like the Congress party in Haryana, hence it won't be a good idea in the long-term to ally with BJP since there are many Jats who are not in favour of the ruling party today,” said Sanjay Kumar, professor and the Director at the Centre for Study of Developing Societies in an interview to The Quint.
Keeping the latest results in mind, one key take away is the underwhelming performance of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in both the states despite inching closer to form the government.
As per the latest results of the Haryana Assembly elections, BJP is leading in 40 seats, followed by Congress with 31 and Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) with 10 seats. In Maharashtra, BJP is leading with 105 seats, followed by Shiv Sena with 56 seats and Congress with 44 seats. Natioanlist Congress Party (NCP) is leading in 54 seats.
Speculating what could be part of the problem behind the ruling party's performance in the states, Kumar said the vote-share of urban voters seems comparatively more, who more often than not have an inclination towards other Opposition parties.
“There should be a probe into how things changed so drastically, especially when people were speculating that there might be a hung Assembly in Haryana,” he added.
'It's a Moral Victory'
Talking about how people are viewing this election as a victory for anti-incumbency and not for Congress, he said that BJP workers say that Congress stands at the second position in Maharashtra and at the fourth in Haryana.
“People, including me thought that after the Lok Sabha elections, it will be a one-sided election and that Congress will be wiped out. I thought even 12-14 seats for Congress in Haryana would be a lot,” he said.
Kumar said it is important to notice that the “silver lining” in these elections is the performance of the BJP ministers.
“Eight-nine of the ministers have lost the elections. This is a very big deal and a wake up call for BJP,” he said.
On Congress Performing Well, But Trailing Behind
Talking about the apparent infighting within Congress, Kumar said that if Congress looks at the results in both states, they will regret it.
“If Congress had given former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda the of state earlier, and cooperated with NCP in Maharashtra, things could have been different. I am not saying they didn’t work hard, but when they will see the results, they will know that this is their lesson.”Sanjay Kumar, CSDS Dircetor
He also said that NCP should have shown decisiveness earlier that they will rally for Sharad Pawar for the post of Maharashtra’s chief minister.
'Unemployment, Farmers' Distress Problems Gaining Ground'
Talking about the strategies around which the BJP built their campaigns, like ‘nationalism’, ‘national security’, he said it is likely that day-to-day issues like joblessness, farmers’ distress are more important to the people in Haryana and Maharashtra.
“This election is a shock for BJP, because in Maharashtra where everyone thought they will cross 200 seats, they have been proven wrong. Both the 2014 and 2019 elections were fought on national agendas. But the issues differ in each constituency, and BJP thought people will overlook them.”Sanjay Kumar, CSDS Dircetor
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