Chandigarh: After the results of Jind bypoll in Haryana, a couple of things have emerged, which are significant for the state polity as the Lok Sabha elections are round the corner. The BJP victory in the by-election has confirmed that with a divided Opposition, BJP in Haryana will be a force to be reckoned with. The Congress which came a distant third in the bypoll seems to be facing serious infighting, which the party has to contain before the Lok Sabha elections if it wants to pose a challenge to the BJP in the state.
The greatest loser of the by-election was INLD which was decimated. The Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) -led Dushyant Chautala, a breakaway faction of INLD, emerged the biggest gainer. However, the win in the by-election has brought a smile on the faces of BJP leaders as they think that a win close to parliamentary as well as Assembly elections would galvanise party cadres in the state. The BJP supporters are of the opinion that by wining Jind bypoll, they have captured a seat in Jat stronghold, which implies that the non-Jat vote bank of the BJP is intact. They feel that despite severe criticism of the Manohar Lal Khattar government on the issue of Jat reservation movement and riots, it would be foolish to write off Khattar.
Describing the BJP’s comprehensive victory in the by-election to the Jind Assembly constituency as people’s faith in his government’s “transparent and graft-free governance and uniform development policy”, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar said the saffron party would win all the 10 seats in the Lok Sabha elections in the state.
The CM, however, maintained that the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the state would be held on time. “As of now there is no possibility of holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and Assembly but in case any such suggestion comes from the Centre, it could be considered,” he said.
For the Congress, the Jind by-election has brought the infighting within the party to the fore. Senior Congress leader and party’s national spokesperson Randeep Surjewala has criticised that some party leaders are behind his defeat in the Jind bypoll. Senior Congress leader claimed that party leaders didn’t help him in the highly anticipated election
Speaking at a meeting in Kaithal, Haryana, Mr Surjewala hinted that this election defeat is somewhat similar to the 1993 bypoll result where he was defeated allegedly due to backstabbing by a former Congress’s chief minister. Mr Surjewala further urged that the Grand Old Party is deeply rooted and those who are trying to demean it will never succeeded.
The biggest gainer of the bypoll seems to be Dushwant Chautala, the grandson of INLD chief, former chief minister Om Parkash Chautala. Dushyant Chautala, an MP, has the distinction of being elected as the youngest-ever member in the Lower House of Parliament. After O.P. Chautala expelled him and his jailed father Ajay Chautala from the party, Dushyant Chautala formed his own party, JJP and fielded his brother Digvijay Chautala as a candidate from Jind.
The JJP may have lost the election, coming second, but the number of votes (37,631) it got is an indicator that it has the overwhelming support of the Jat communit.
A fallout of the bypoll was that BSP, the partner of INLD in the election, has threatened to break the alliance if INLD did not mend its ties with the JJP. To rub salt into the wound of the INLD, the JJP was quick to send feelers to the BSP for an alliance.
