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In the first Assembly elections after the BJP's triumph in the Lok Sabha polls in May, the saffron party's electoral juggernaut met with some resistance in Maharashtra and Haryana with a resurgent Congress putting up a good showing in the northern state. With the Congress managing to give the Bharatiya Janata Party a scare in Haryana and winning around the same number seats as it did in 2014 in Maharashtra, these election results will come as a booster shot for the party. Whereas the BJP anticipated the results would be different, but it’s more of an outcome of overconfidence which is worrisome.
Haryana
BJP leader Manohar Lal Khattar took the oath of office as Haryana Chief Minister for the second consecutive term. Khattar has begun his 'second innings' in a coalition government with the JJP. Prime Minister Narendra Modi handpicked Manohar Lal Khattar as Haryana's chief minister in 2014, the decision took many by surprise. But even as a first-time MLA, he was asked to head the first Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and literally proved himself the Khiladi of politics.
Khattar joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) when he was 24 in 1977 and moved to the BJP in 1994. Khattar, a bachelor known for his simple lifestyle, earned himself a reputation as a tough taskmaster while working behind the scenes in key positions in the BJP, and is admired for organisational skills.
Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) Chief Dushyant Chautala took oath of office as Haryana Deputy Chief Minister after his party emerged as the 'kingmaker' with 10 seats in the Haryana Assembly election.
The results of the Haryana Assembly elections possibly settled the debate on the legacy of former Deputy Prime Minister and Jat stalwart Devi Lal in the favour of his great grandson Dushyant Chautala. A former MP, he said it was hard to believe that in just ten months Dushyant has built the party and some of its candidates made even stalwarts bite the dust.
Dushyant trounced BJP sitting MLA Prem Lata, wife of former Union Minister Birender Singh, from Uchana Kalan, while his Jannayak Janata Party's Ram Kumar Gautam defeated senior minister Abhimanyu from Narnaund constituency. With ten seats, JJP emerged in the 'kingmaker's' role as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party ended up winning only 40 seats in the 90-member assembly. The BJP sought the support of Dushyant's JJP, and the seven Independents, to enable it to form a stable government.
Eight of Khattar's ministers also lost the polls that included some prominent faces from the Jat community, including Abhimanyu and Om Prakash Dhankar.
In his first term what worked to his and the BJP's advantage was the absence of a strong opposition in the state. There has been infighting in the state unit of the Congress and a feud in the Chautala clan led to a split in the once-powerful Indian National Lok Dal (INLD). Now, with his party taking support of seven Independents and the 10-month old Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), and making its leader Dushyant Chautala his deputy, Khattar faces the challenge of running a coalition government.
Former Haryana Chief Minister and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda slammed the BJP-JJP alliance. He said, "This alliance has been forged in manner of 'vote kisi ki, support kisi ko'. This government is based on selfishness. JJP disrespected people's mandate. We had less time after changes in our organisation. Had the changes been made earlier, results would've been different."
Maharashtra
The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance has retained power in Maharashtra, albeit with a reduced majority. The BJP ended with a tally of 105 in the 288-member Assembly. The Sena won on 56 seats, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on 54, while the Congress won 44 seats.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said his party and the BJP will form the next government in Maharashtra, and stressed the two parties will stick to the pre-decided "50-50" sharing formula. BJP-Shiv Sena alliance won an absolute majority in the Maharashtra assembly polls, but no clarity on how they will tie up.
Even as the Shiv Sena demanded a written assurance over the decided equal sharing of the CM's seat from the senior leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the regional party Chief Uddhav Thackeray cancelled meeting with the BJP on the formation of the next government. This came hours after Devendra Fadnavis denied promises to the party.
According to sources in the BJP, the discussion and agreement reached with the Shiv Sena was on "equitable distribution of power and not on the post of the chief minister."
Finance Minister and BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar said, Maharashtra may head for President's rule if the new government in the state is not in place by November 7, even after eight days result of the Assembly elections held on 21 October. The state level will sit together to find a way to resolve the deadlock. If necessary, the central leadership of BJP will intervene. He added, ‘We fought the election as an alliance. The issue here is not of Sena or BJP, but the people of Maharashtra’. (Till the time this article was published, the Government was not formed)
EP Desk
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