BJP to seek deras’ help to win Haryana polls

After the BJP won an unprecedented 10 Lok Sabha seats from Haryana in the recent general election, the state party unit has been tasked with securing a two-thirds majority in the 90-member Assembly, to which elections are due to be held by later this year. With an eye on the target of 75 seats set by party president Amit Shah, the state unit has decided to reach out to the millions of “dera” followers in the state ahead of the polls.

Sources said the state unit was asked to observe the forthcoming Kabir Jayanti, the ongoing observation of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev which culminates later this year, and the jayantis of other Bhakti-era saints with fanfare. This seems to be done in a bid to reach out to millions of dera followers, and Bhakti era saints are very popular among their followers.

Among the deras are Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insan’s Dera Sacha Sauda and one headed by Sant Rampal Das. Interestingly, the leaders of both these sects are now in jail after being charged with various offences. Ahead of the 2014 polls, the BJP had secured the support of Dera Sacha Sauda, which was also considered one of the main reasons why it did so well in the state.

It is understood the BJP’s impressive performance, in which it annihilated the entire Opposition, will be the model for the coming Assembly polls. Sources said that while the party would continue to seek votes in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as in the Lok Sabha polls, in Haryana the BJP will also bank on the clean image of chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar. The polls in Haryana are likely to be held in October 2019.

The BJP hopes to gain in the coming Assembly polls and improve upon its 2014 Assembly performance, where it secured 49 seats in a triangular contest. As in the Lok ■

Sabha polls, the party feels a three-way fight between the BJP, the alliance of the Aam Aadmi Party and Dushyant Chautala’s Jannayak Janata Party and the Congress may play a key role in helping it recapture the state Assembly.

The party hopes that the Jat vote, considered the state’s most influential community, will get divided among the Opposition parties, and it will still be able to consolidate and hold on to voters of the other castes in its favour.