NEW DELHI Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has made big gains in two Indian state elections, creating history in Haryana by getting a clear majority and finishing as the single largest party in a hung assembly in Maharashtra.
The BJP had broken ties with its allies Haryana Janhit Congress and Shiv Sena in Haryana and Maharashtra respectively and took what political observers felt was a big gamble.
The Congress was humiliated in both Haryana and Maharashtra which it had been ruling for two and three consecutive terms, respectively.
Upsetting past trends, the BJP won 47 seats in the 90-member Haryana assembly, winning a 33.2 per cent vote share. The BJP Parliamentary Party Board met in New Delhi on Sunday evening to discuss chief minister probables.
In Maharashtra, the BJP emerged the single largest party where the regional Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has announced its outside support to the party.
BJP president Amit Shah credited the victory to voters and the party workers and said that the Modi wave that started during summer general elections had now turned into a tsunami. BJP had decided against projecting anyone as its chief ministerial candidates in both states and sought votes on Modi’s name. The rival Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi said that she hopes parties forming the governments in Haryana and Maharashtra would fulfil promises made to the public, while her son and party vice president Rahul Gandhi congratulated the BJP.
“The Congress (party) will work hard on the ground to once again earn people’s confidence,” Rahul said.
Congress party was in power in Maharashtra for 15 years and for 10 years in Haryana and faced massive anti-incumbency in both states. Modi’s extensive campaigning in the two states – 26 election rallies in Maharashtra and 11 in Haryana – helped BJP get desired results. BJP managed to win 47 seats in the 90-member Haryana assembly and 123 seats in the 288-strong Maharashtra assembly.
- With additional inputs from Agencies
