It was a ‘Super Tuesday’ for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which defied exit poll projections to secure a third straight term in Haryana.
Having learned its lessons from the unexpected Lok Sabha poll verdict, the BJP had left no stone unturned to arrest the 10-year-long anti-incumbency in the northern state, and its gamble paid off.
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“The victory in Haryana is outcome of immense hardwork of party workers. This is victory of Naddaji and Haryana team, the victory is also that of our humble Chief Minister.... Today in Haryana, the guarantee of development has won over the attempts at lies. The people of Haryana have created new history,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his victory address at the BJP headquarters.
Assembly election results 2024 LIVE updates
When the counting of votes began at 8 am on Tuesday, early trends suggested a landslide win for the Congress with over 55 seats. The grand old party workers were seen distributing ‘jalebis’, a juicy sweet that hogged headlines due to Rahul Gandhi's poll promise. However, the tables turned within hours as the trends drastically shifted in the BJP's favour.
The Congress moved the Election Commission, first alleging misleading poll results data on the Election Commission website, and later calling the verdict “unacceptable”.
But the grand old party has reasons to smile, as it clinched victory along with ally National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir, which saw first assembly elections since the erstwhile state became a Union territory.
Here are the big takeaways from the election results in J&K and Haryana:-
1. BJP's strategy to stem anti-incumbency pays off
In March this year, the BJP in a surprise move replaced Manohar Lal Khattar as the chief minister. Nayab Singh Saini, an OBC leader, was appointed to helm the state. As it appeared that the dominant Jats and Dalits might vote for Congress, the BJP consolidated consolidating non-Jat voters to its advantage. These were among the moves that helped the saffron party duck anti-incumbency in Haryana.
{{/usCountry}}In March this year, the BJP in a surprise move replaced Manohar Lal Khattar as the chief minister. Nayab Singh Saini, an OBC leader, was appointed to helm the state. As it appeared that the dominant Jats and Dalits might vote for Congress, the BJP consolidated consolidating non-Jat voters to its advantage. These were among the moves that helped the saffron party duck anti-incumbency in Haryana.
{{/usCountry}}2. Congress: MP in 2023, Haryana in 2024
In 2023, the Congress failed to encash the nearly two-decade long anti-incumbency faced by the BJP in Madhya Pradesh. The situation was no different in Haryana. Anti-incumbency, farmers anger, Agniveer scheme controversy seemed to be weighing heavily on the BJP. Despite a poll blitzkrieg by Rahul Gandhi and other Congress heavyweights, the finishing line in Haryana proved to be too far.
3. Haryana results expose Cong infighting
The Haryana election results proved once again that the state unit is not immune to infighting. Even before the first vote was caste, there were reports of resentment by prominent Dalit face Kumari Selja against Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who was leading the Congress campaign in the state.
After the results showed that the Congress would sit in the opposition once again, Selja said,"We will have to make a fresh start and think about the shortcomings. We will have to see who all are responsible for such a results."
4. Omar Abdullah's comeback after LS poll defeat
In the Lok Sabha elections, National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah was stunned by then-jailed independent candidate Sheikh Rashid in Baramulla.
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Less than three months later, the Abdullah scion was instrumental in leading the party to the pole position in the J&K assembly elections. The younger Abdullah played a key role in the party's tieup with Congress.
5. AAP opens account in J&K, routed in Haryana
The Jammu and Kashmir elections will also be known for Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party opening its account in the Union territory. For a party known for presence in Delhi and Punjab, the AAP leadership has reasons to smile. The party, however, had a forgettable poll outing in Haryana, where it failed to win a single seat.
6. BJP's best-ever poll performance in J&K
In 2019, the Narendra Modi government had ended the special status to Jammu and Kashmir by abrogating Article 370. The move had bifurcated J&K into two Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The party registered its best performance in the J&K election history by winning 29 seats, all in the Jammu region.
7. Smaller parties bite the dust
It was believed that the smaller parties in both Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir would play a key role in the formation of governments. However, the ‘kingmaker’ parties bit the dust in both the elections. Be it the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) or Dushyant Chautala's JJP in Haryana, or Engineer Rashid's Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) or Sajad Lone's People's Conference in J&K, the regional parties could not pose the challenge to the national heavyweights.