Manohar Lal Khattar (64) was a surprise pick to head the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) first majority government in Haryana in 2014. He struggled within the party and in government in the initial years as chief minister, had to deal with a violent protest over the demand for Jat reservation in 2016 and courted several controversies with his statements. He delivered some relief to his party in municipal elections in Haryana just four days after the BJP lost three key states to the Congress on December 11. The Haryana CM spoke to Kumar Uttam about the recent elections, farm distress, employment and the 2019 parliamentary elections. Edited excerpts:
How do you analyse the outcome of the municipal elections in your state?
I don’t limit it to just municipalities. It reflects people’s mood; what they like and what they don’t. After the defeat of the BJP in the recent assembly elections, some claimed that people were turning away from the party. The municipal elections in Haryana happened four days after the results of assembly elections were declared. If people were actually unhappy with the BJP, we would not have got the kind of results we got in Haryana. This was a stamp of approval on the functioning of the BJP in the state.
Why wasn’t there an anti-incumbency impact in Haryana?
Favouritism in government leads to problems. We took several precautions. We have made no discriminations, whether it was somebody’s personal work or on matters related to the community. Everyone felt there was justice. Our programmes, schemes and the system worked on the principle that everyone is ours. We did not discriminate on the basis of caste, religion or community.
What is your slogan for the next election?
{{/usCountry}}What is your slogan for the next election?
{{/usCountry}}Haryana Ek, Haryanvi Ek.
And will you be the CM face of your party in the election?
This is not my issue. The high command and the legislators will take a call. I never indulged in pressure politics to become the chief minister. We do not have a race in the BJP to become the chief minister.
Haryana assembly will go to polls within months of the national election. Do you support one-nation-one-election idea?
That idea is for the entire nation. But all parties will have to agree for that. The Constitution will have to be amended. This is not possible in 2019. We will attempt it in 2024. We have not said anything on holding simultaneous election. Still, if the Centre or the Election Commission say otherwise, we are ready.
Will you dissolve the assembly and recommend early elections in Haryana to time it with the Lok Sabha elections?
We are not going to do anything like that. If left to us, we will hold assembly elections according to the schedule.
The outcome of the assembly elections show that there is some unease among farmers across the country. How serious is this challenge for the BJP in 2019?
There is politics of farmers in this country. There are several organisations and systems, and whoever mobilises them feels that whatever is happening is because of farmers. Because of their share in the population, farmers are a reason, but there are several issues as well. Our intention is farmers’ welfare and we have taken many initiatives. We have set up a special authority for farmers in Haryana.
How do you respond to Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s demand for a national farm loan waiver?
This demand has been there for a long time. Once, the Centre also announced a ₹60,000-crore waiver for farmers. But, in Haryana, we have offered loans at zero rate of interest. We are doing it for the last three years. But, financial management is needed. We need to focus on that. We need to see how a farmer utilises the loan he takes. This is a solution in the long run. We do not have a problem in Haryana like other states have.
Do you think that the BJP will have to pay a political cost for not agreeing to a farm loan waiver in the next election?
We will take a political decision whenever it is required. The issue is farmer welfare, and as I said, our purpose is to make people feel that the government is there to take care of them. When this sense will exist, the blackmailing will stop. We will then be under no compulsion to take decisions depending on their political cost.
The BJP did not do well in the urban centres in the recent elections. Do you think there was an impact of demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax on the results?
Let me tell you this: Some people have created this impression that the BJP lost badly. I analyse Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan results differently. We got more votes than the Congress in Madhya Pradesh, and we were just five seats short of the Congress’s tally. It is wrong to say we suffered a big setback in MP and it is leading to several questions. Same is the case with Rajasthan, where the vote share difference was just 0.5 percentage point. People were predicting 30-35 seats for us in Rajasthan and we got 73. A large number of independents and others won. The Congress did not win that election by a big margin. We are almost equal.
Is it a matter of concern for the BJP that the Congress has come at par with it?
Yes, but do not take it as if entire people have turned against us. We have to do some improvement and we will do that.
What about the GST and demonetisation impacts on the results?
Yes, there was a situation when note ban and GST happened. There was difficulty and anger. It was a new thing for people; they had felt it for the first time. There are two groups. The first one thinks it is a big reform after 70 years of independence. GST is doing well in countries where it is in practice. The younger businessmen are happy with it. The older generations are not happy with it - because of the old habit. They used to feel independence, with the old practice, in doing dubious dealings. That independence doesn’t exist now because everything is accounted for. Yes, the slab ratings are high. In other countries, there are 2-3 slabs, here we have are 10-12. Problems are because of these slabs. But, we are trying for reform.
So you say farmers and businessmen are happy under the BJP government?
There is no reason to be angry. But, there is a cultural psyche that “we should get more”. We have not been able to change this psyche. It will take time.
How are you dealing with the challenge of job creation?
Unemployment is not a big issue in Haryana as it is in other parts of the country. But, the way population is growing and number of job-seekers is increasing, government jobs are not available in that proportion. We have two lakh new job-seekers every year, and, at best, 10,000-15,000 government jobs come up every year. We have created new avenues. Our ranking has improved in ‘ease of doing business’ index. 22,000 small and big enterprises have opened up in Haryana in the last four years.
Do you think the Congress is becoming a stronger challenge for the BJP?
The Congress is not our main rival, it is the INLD. But the INLD has also split. The Congress leadership is divided in Haryana. In Karnal, the different factions of the Congress supported an INLD-backed candidate in Karnal mayoral election. Their aim was to stop the BJP. They said “CM ko gher lo” (corner the CM). But, this CM will not be cornered like this. He has made a place for himself in people’s hearts. New parties such as the Aam Aadmi Party also want to enter Haryana thinking the CM is weak. Everyone wants a share of the cake. The more is the number of claimants for the cake, the better it is for us. We are safe.
Between the two factions of the INLD, whom do you favour more?
Both are equal for us.
Will you have alliance with any of them?
We don’t need them.
Will the BJP fight the next elections alone?
We fought the recent elections on our strength and won. We are getting support. If this is the situation now, it will improve next year. Fifth year is the year of delivery for any government. I have always said that ours was a new government. First two years, I was in training. We got only three years. Only two of these three years has passed, and one more year is left. This means, nearly 50% of our tenure is still left. There will be improvement in our results.
The BJP won 7 out of 10 Lok Sabha seats of Haryana in 2014. How do you see the BJP placed for the 2019 elections?
We won 7 out of 8 seats that we fought. Two seats were left for our then ally, the Haryana Janhit Congress, which felt it had immense support among people. They were a failure, and lost both the seats. We will fight all 10 seats this time and win all.
The HJC of Kuldeep Bishnoi has joined the Congress. Your appointment as the CM has led to a Jat versus non-Jat perception in Haryana. How will it impact the BJP’s prospects in the next parliamentary and assembly elections?
We never think of advancing on the basis of caste. We do not have that approach. The Congress and the Indian National Lok Dal could never think beyond caste. Their arithmetic is about castes. Who are these people who fuelled Jat-reservation stir? The Jat community has 10% reservation through a notification, and the court intervened. They demanded that this reservation should be given through an Act, and we agreed. There was a felling among the community that they have under-representation in government jobs and farming was no more a profitable business because of land-holding getting smaller. We agreed on having an Act. But they instigated the Jat community and there was violence, leading to loss of lives and properties. But Jats have realised this, and they stood against them. We are getting support from them. There is no Jat versus non-Jat issue any more