Job woes a major hurdle in BJP’s hattrick dash in Haryana
Unemployment, along with Agnipath and farmers’ issues, is the Congress’ primary arsenal to ambush the ruling BJP in state where over 46 lakh voters are in the 18-29 age group
A decade ago, when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) toppled the two-term Congress government, led by chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, at the core of saffron party’s narrative was “unbridled nepotism” in recruitment and corruption in administration.
A decade later, and ahead of keenly watched October 1 assembly polls, the BJP finds itself in a fix over the issue of rising unemployment.
Joblessness, along with Agnipath and farmers’ issues, is the Congress’ primary arsenal to ambush the ruling BJP in Haryana where over 46 lakh voters are in the 18-29 age group.
The Congress has been belligerent in targeting the BJP over ‘unmet poll promises’. The grand old party’s ‘Haryana Mange Hisaab’ campaign has set the tone of the electoral slugfest with the performance of the digitally-driven BJP government in its second innings has come under intense scrutiny.
Chief minister Nayab Singh Saini, on his part, has launched a counter-offensive, saying that the BJP has fulfilled all 261 assurances listed in the 2019 “Sankalp Patra.” “We have gone much beyond poll manifesto. This is evident from numerous decisions and public welfare schemes we have started,” says CM Saini.
Though the state government has been vociferous in its claims of fulfilling its promises, a closer look clearly points towards significant gaps.
Found wanting on several fronts
Round-the-clock power supply promised in 2014 to all villages is a work in progress, while ‘twice a day’ potable water supply guarantee to every household continues to be a pipe dream.
That how efficiently government has fixed civic issues in urban areas can be gauged from the garbage woes of the millennium city Gurugram. Add to it waterlogging, contaminated water and erratic power supply, a testament to the plight of other urban areas in Haryana.
Inability of the government to fix issues related to women’s safety & empowerment, civic amenities, bad roads and poorly administered health department are also some other areas of concern.
Within the BJP too, there’s a growing feeling that issues pertaining to women’s safety, unemployment, pitiable roads in rural areas is resulting in dissatisfaction among voters.
The Opposition, understandably, is focusing on these gaps to put the ruling regime on the back foot.
Bright spots
The BJP, however, has taken rapid strides in sectors such as agriculture, school education, social security, ₹3,000 per month pension and linking majority of public welfare schemes and benefits focusing on 49 lakh below poverty line (BPL) families whose annual income is ₹1.80 lakh. “Agriculture, infrastructure and public welfare arenas have seen a lot of work. BPL families have got a number of incentives, including free ration, and other benefits,” said a retired bureaucrat, who didn’t wish to be named.
The Congress, however, has been quite vocal in its criticism of state government’s functioning. Aftab Ahmed, deputy leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) in the assembly, said: “Corruption flourished during the BJP-JJP coalition government, led by Manohar Lal Khattar, and to hide its shortcomings, the then CM kept on floating web portals in the name of transparency.”
“The common minimum programme of BJP-JJP government did not see light of the day. Liquor scam, registry scam, mining scam and recruitment scam are prime examples of corruption that prevailed. And they say they ran a clean administration. Web portals were only a ploy to hoodwink public,” alleged Ahmed, an MLA from Nuh.
In its 2014 manifesto, the BJP promised to fill “the backlog” of jobs in all governments and semi-government departments. The 2019 manifesto claimed how state government in its first term successfully implemented a transparent recruitment process (TRP) policy.
“Now, we are committed to transforming this policy into time-bound transparent recruitment process (TTRP),” BJP said in 2019 poll manifesto. The ground reality, however, is that the state government has been unable to accelerate the recruitment process. In August 2023 assembly session, the state government had admitted that about 2.02 lakh permanent posts in various Haryana government departments were vacant.
In mid-July this year, Haryana Police informed the state government that at least 30% sanctioned posts -- constables to inspectors--were lying vacant. Saini, however, says: “In the last 10 years, our government has provided 1,41,000 jobs based on merit.”
As per official records, during 2015 to 22, about 1.69 lakh youth got themselves enrolled every year in various employment exchanges in the state.
Recruitments marred by paper leaks
The anti-corruption bureau nabbing government officers involved in recruitment took the shine off government’s pet phrase “bina parchi, bina kharchi” in recruitment.
“The recruitments were marred by paper leaks, delays, arrests and seizure of cash from HPSC officials. The claims about recruitment without cash and political push are bogus,” says Nuh MLA Ahmed.
Rajender Sharma, professor of political science in Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak, says the issue of ‘bina parchi, bina kharchi ‘ is irrelevant when large number of posts remain vacant.
“After a gap of eight years and before the elections, government advertised posts of college lecturers. Why,” asks Sharma.
To bolster its attack, the Congress has been citing the data of Center for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) that pegged unemployment in Haryana at 37% last year. The Haryana government has always dismissed CMIE data as politically motivated.
“Educated unemployed youth are restive and waiting for October 1,” says former CM Hooda.