BJP lost 27-lakh votes in assembly polls vis-a-vis Lok Sabha elections
SLIDE Saffron party bagged about 73-lakh votes in general elections and only about 45-lakh votes in the state polls
CHANDIGARH : The outcome of the Haryana assembly elections has given credence to the theory that people vote differently when it comes to electing members of parliament and state assembly. The BJP which won all 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana, registering leads in 79 out of 90 assembly segments, fell short of a simple majority in the assembly elections.
Statistics show the saffron party in Haryana which bagged about 73-lakh votes in the Lok Sabha elections was able to secure only about 45-lakh votes in the assembly polls.
The cutback of about 27-lakh votes (about 37%) in the assembly polls, however, does not reflect well on the state BJP leadership and chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, the face of party’s assembly poll campaign. Analysts said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s charisma and nationalism agenda-driven campaign were the primary reasons why the BJP swept the Lok Sabha polls in Haryana.
Prof Ashutosh Kumar of political science department, Panjab University (PU), Chandigarh, said assembly poll results showed the ruling BJP in Haryana in poor light. “Eight sitting ministers lost the polls. It reflected badly on BJP’s governance model in Haryana. Even the margin of victory of the chief minister decreased from about 63,000 in 2014 polls to about 45,000 this time,’’ Prof Kumar said.
Prof Kumar said incidents like Balakot air strikes, a reaction to the Pulwama attack, were fresh in people’s minds when they voted for the BJP and Modi during the Lok Sabha polls. “However, local issues became the overriding factor in the assembly elections. That’s where a super confident BJP, riding on the euphoria of an emphatic Lok Sabha victory, faltered.”
The PU political analysts said that Khattar was extremely fortunate to have survived the dismal performance. It was because of his proximity to the prime minister and the fact that there was no alternative.
“All the big guns of the BJP including the likes of Ram Bilas Sharma, Capt Abhimanyu and OP Dhankar were silenced by the electorate. The BJP right now does not have much to choose from,’’ he said.