Ahead of Haryana assembly polls, BJP readies BC outreach plan
All eyes are on Tuesday’s state-level Backward Classes Samman Sammelan in Mahendergarh where the Union home minister will be the chief guest
After a brief lull, fresh enthusiasm marks the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) preparation for the upcoming Haryana assembly elections with Union home minister Amit Shah visiting Mahendergarh on Tuesday to woo backward classes (BCs), in what will be a second visit of Shah in less than three weeks to the state where the BJP has been in power since October 2014.
All eyes are on Tuesday’s state-level Backward Classes Samman Sammelan in Mahendergarh where the Union home minister will be the chief guest as chief minister (CM) Nayab Singh Saini-led BJP government is set to roll out a red carpet to the BCs, which account for about 27% of Haryana’s electorate, officials said.
Top BJP sources did not rule out the government making major announcements to make further inroads into the Yadav caste-dominated Ahirwal belt during Tuesday’s event. Already as part of the BJP’s plan to woo BCs, the CM during the OBC Morcha Sarv Samaj Samrasta Sammelan held in Gurugram on June 23 had announced that the annual income limit for identifying persons in the “creamy layer” among the BCs for reservation in public employment and educational institutions has been increased from ₹6 lakh to ₹8 lakh.
“It will be a government function and there are bright chances of some major announcements being made that will be beneficial to the BCs of Haryana,” Mohan Lal Badoli, Haryana BJP chief, told Hindustan Times.
He said the party rank and file is actively working on the road map which Shah has chalked out for the BJP in Haryana in the run-up to assembly polls in October.
The five-year term of the 90-member Haryana assembly will end on November 3
Given the importance of this event for the electoral fortunes of the BJP and the function being held in southern Haryana, perceived to be the BJP’s stronghold, Saini visited the Central University of Haryana, Mahendragarh, on July 13 to oversee the preparations.
Haryana’s political field has always been dominated by the influential Jat population (around 28%), who are largely tilted towards the Congress and also divided between Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), and its breakaway group the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP).
On the other hand, the BJP has been focusing on joining together the non-Jat vote during the electoral bouts.
While the CM is from the BCs, the state BJP chief is a Brahmin, who are around 7-8% of the state’s electorate.
The BJP’s tactics of consolidating anti-Jat voters become further clear as the party has also inducted three non-Jat MPs from Haryana as ministers in the newly formed NDA government at the Centre. For instance, former CM Manohar Lal Khattar is a Punjabi-Khatri, Rao Inderjit Singh is an Ahir and Krishan Pal Gurjar is a backward-class leader.
BJP leaders say as per the “19-point poll strategy” Shah had chalked out during the party workers meeting in Panchkula on June 29, the party think tank has decided to first consolidate its position in 58 assembly constituencies spread across the GT road belt (34 seats) and southern Haryana (24 seats), the region where the BJP has performed well in last two assembly elections.
Another strategy of the party is to keep intact its support base in 44 assembly segments where the BJP got the lead in the recent Lok Sabha election.
People familiar with the matter in the BJP said one of the key tasks the Union home minister has given to the state BJP leaders is to identify booths where the BJP candidates polled less than 50% votes during the Lok Sabha and assembly elections of 2014 and 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The local issues that turned away the voters from the BJP in the 2024 parliamentary polls have been largely ascertained and corrective steps are being taken at both government and party level.
Badoli said the identification of booths where the BJP polled less than 50% of votes is in advanced stages.
“Within 15 days after the Lok Sabha poll verdict and the drubbing we faced in Haryana, Shah held a meeting in Panchkula. It was a wake-up call. Now, 17 days after the Panchkula event, Shah will be in southern Haryana. Shah has sent out a clear message to the party and the government that the BJP will fight the assembly elections with lock stock and barrel,” said a senior BJP leader, pointing out that Tuesday’s event is a part of this battle plan to win back the confidence of the voters.