As Haryana heads to the polls on October 5, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is imploding. The party, which is currently in power in the state, is facing a widespread revolt over ticket distribution with several senior leaders openly rebelling and two ministers stepping down from their posts.
Among those who have raised the banner of revolt include former state minister Savitri Jindal, one of India’s richest women and mother of Naveen Jindal, former Congress MP.
Mother and son joined the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha polls a few months ago. Savitri Jindal wanted a ticket from Hisar but with that being denied; she has not even ruled out the possibility of going back to the Congress.
Discontent within parties is not unexpected at election time and it happens to all when mandates are denied and changes made. In the BJP however it is very unusual.
Anger spilling over
For more than a decade now, Narendra Modi and Amit Shah have had an iron grip on the party and ensured that no one ever stepped out of line in public. This is clearly changing, as pent up anger within the party spills over.
In Haryana, the BJP is already on the back foot, with Jat anger over the government’s handling of the farmer agitation still simmering.
As well as the issue of the wrestler protests, where again the government and the BJP’s IT cell army tried a smear campaign against the athletes for speaking out against alleged sexual harassment by BJP MP and then Wrestling Federation chief Brij Bhushan Singh.
Now two of those wrestlers, Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, have joined the Congress. And the BJP is treading carefully.
Anti incumbency factor
When the news broke, Brij Bhushan Singh was quick to jump in and tell the news agency PTI that Punia and Phogat were pawns. “They were used like pawns by (former Haryana Chief Minister) Bhupinder Hooda, the Congress and the Congress family. This was all conspired to gain a hold on the Wrestling Federation of India and to attack the BJP and its ideology”, he said.
Soon afterwards, the BJP leadership told Singh to shut up. The rest of the party is being careful too, focusing the attack more on the Congress.
For the BJP, anti incumbency is another huge factor at play in these elections. The party won all 10 Lok Sabha seats from the state in 2019 but only 5 this year. The saffron party is counting more on non Jat votes in the state to see them through. But even here they are facing headwinds.
In the parliament election, the BJP’s OBC vote was hit by the opposition’s charge that the party would change the constitution and end reservations if it came to power with a huge majority. In Haryana, the BJP’s OBC morcha president has also rebelled and quit over being denied a ticket.
While the INDIA bloc’s vote share in Haryana in the Lok Sabha polls was higher, the Congress too is facing infighting and turmoil over ticket distribution. They need to ensure everyone is on the same page.
Alliance talks with the AAP fell through, even though Rahul Gandhi was keen for a tie up, but state Congress leaders were opposed to it.
Congress party insiders believe going alone will benefit the party in the state pointing out to the AAP’s rather lacklustre performance in Haryana in 2019 and in the recent general election. While this may be true, it also exposes the fragility of the INDIA bloc and the churning within.
For now though its advantage Congress in Haryana as the BJP deals with unprecedented dissent.
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