Within the 2024 Haryana Meeting elections, the Bharatiya Janata Get together (BJP) is about to type the federal government for the third consecutive time period, defying exit ballot predictions of a Congress win. As outcomes pour in, the BJP is main in over 48 seats, surpassing its 2019 efficiency when it secured 40 seats and needed to depend on an alliance with the Jannayak Janata Get together (JJP). Listed here are 5 key components that contributed to the BJP’s sturdy efficiency on this election.
Sensible Candidate Choice
The BJP’s method to candidate choice was one other issue that labored in its favour. The occasion launched 60 recent faces in an effort to fight anti-incumbency and changed a number of sitting MLAs, together with former Chief Minister Khattar, who was seen as distant and unapproachable.
Saini, along with his grassroots attraction, was seen as a extra relatable chief. In distinction, Congress re-nominated 17 candidates who had beforehand misplaced elections, together with its state president Udai Bhan. Moreover, BJP strategically used the notion that Congress would once more appoint Bhupinder Hooda, a Jat chief, as Chief Minister, which alienated non-Jat voters who feared that alternatives could be concentrated in Hooda’s stronghold of Rohtak.
Fragmented Opposition
The fragmented nature of the opposition additionally labored to the BJP’s benefit. Not like the Lok Sabha elections, the place opposition events tried to current a united entrance, in Haryana, Congress and the Aam Aadmi Get together (AAP) contested individually. Additional division got here from alliances like that between the Indian Nationwide Lok Dal (INLD) and the Bahujan Samaj Get together (BSP), in addition to between the JJP and the Azad Samaj Get together. The entry of quite a few unbiased candidates additional cut up the anti-BJP vote, permitting the ruling occasion to clinch a number of constituencies the place the opposition vote was divided.
Non-Jat Votes
A significant a part of BJP’s technique since 2014 has been specializing in consolidating non-Jat votes, which make up about 75% of Haryana’s inhabitants. Historically, the state has seen chief ministers from the upper-caste Jat neighborhood, which kinds round 25% of the inhabitants.
Nonetheless, the BJP broke from this sample by appointing Manohar Lal Khattar, a Punjabi Khatri, as Chief Minister in 2014 and later Nayab Singh Saini, an OBC chief, as his alternative in 2024. Saini’s early affirmation because the CM candidate helped the occasion acquire vital help from the OBC neighborhood, which contains 40% of the state’s voters. This give attention to non-Jat voters was essential in securing the BJP’s lead.
Concentrate on Improvement
The BJP’s emphasis on improvement and welfare schemes performed a significant function in swaying voters. Months earlier than the election marketing campaign started in earnest, the BJP launched its “Modi ki Assure” marketing campaign, the place specifically designed vans travelled to villages, selling authorities schemes and serving to residents rectify points with their Parivar Pehchan Patras (household id playing cards).
The occasion additionally highlighted its success in Direct Profit Transfers (DBTs), claiming to have ensured that advantages immediately reached beneficiaries’ financial institution accounts with out middlemen. Moreover, the event in key areas alongside the GT Highway, from Ambala to Delhi, the place 25 seats are positioned, was a big issue that earned the occasion help in these constituencies.
Strong Marketing campaign Efforts
The BJP’s intensive marketing campaign efforts have been one other key think about its success. The occasion held over 150 rallies, with many addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Residence Minister Amit Shah. As compared, the Congress managed solely round 70 rallies.
BJP’s marketing campaign messaging targeted on the occasion’s improvement initiatives, disciplined governance, and guarantees of continued progress, contrasting sharply with Congress’s give attention to agrarian points and socialist rhetoric.
Congress chief Rahul Gandhi’s pitch, which emphasised farmers’ issues and criticized industrialists, could not have resonated effectively with enterprise communities and aspirational voters within the state, additional weakening Congress’s attraction.
