Chandigarh: Is it the Congress's overconfidence or its failure to stitch an alliance with its previous partner Aam Aadmi Party that led to its humiliating defeat in Haryana that resulted in the return of the BJP for the third, record consecutive term.
Political observers believe the sidelining of the main contenders like Kumari Selja, a prominent Dalit face and party’s Member of Parliament from Sirsa, is also one of the major reasons for the party’s defeat.
The BJP and the Congress were the two major players in the state. The BJP, in power in Haryana for 10 years, is seeking a hat-trick of victories, while the Congress was seeking a comeback after remaining in Opposition for two terms.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) were also in the fray.
According to political analyst Lok Poll, BJP's narrative of Jat vs OBC (Other Backward Class) and Jat vs Jatavs (Scheduled Castes) resonated effectively during the campaigning, coupled with internal factionalism within the Congress and ticket distribution that led to the Congress loss.
“Underestimating the impact of third-party candidates and independents by assuming it would be a two-way contest, ” it says.
“A touch of overconfidence after the Lok Sabha results and leadership that was too focused on individuals and one community. Other local factors like the influence of Dera Sacha Sauda at the last moment, ” says Lok Poll, adding that the high command which didn't mind intervening at the right time to sort out the differences in the party like how they managed in states like Karnataka.
Poll observers attribute the BJP’s retaining the helm to learning from the past mistake of being over-confident and staying grounded. “The Congress became overconfident and rejected the AAP alliance and also sidelined main contenders like Kumari Selja, ” says an observer.
He said AAP broke the votes for the Congress by contending on all 90 seats. “The caste card, wrestler card and Agniveer card were outright rejected by Haryana voters, ” he added.