Haryana Assembly election results 2024: Why Congress suffered a shock defeat

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda at some point of the celebration's Haryana Vijay Sankalp Jansabha, upfront of Assembly polls, in Nuh, Haryana, October Three, 2024. File Photo/PTI

The Congress’ failure to wrest Haryana from the Bharatiya Janata Birthday party (BJP) has bowled over many. Defying exit polls, the saffron celebration held its ground within the northern state and is made up our minds to come to power for a historic 0.33 term.

In line with the Election Commission of India (ECI) trends data at 5.15 pm, the BJP has won 34 seats and is upfront in 15, while the Congress has secured 30 and is leading in six. The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) is upfront in two seats and three Independents have won.

What went wrong for the Congress?

Let’s take a closer look.

Congress’ infighting

The war between the Hoodas and Kumari Selja was an open secret within the Haryana Congress. There was a tussle over the executive minister post between Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Selja. Despite the Congress having a look to portray a united front, it be miles in a position to no longer contain the interior feud.

As per an Indian Express report, Sirsa MP Selja, a prominent Dalit leader, was unhappy by reason of being sidelined by the Hooda camp. She even stayed faraway from election campaigning after the celebration released its last list of candidates on September 12.

Selja, who met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on September 22, flagged to him how she and other senior celebration leaders and workers were “neglected” in candidate selection, formulating the celebration’s manifesto and were being kept out from celebration platforms, the newspaper mentioned.

Hooda’s critics have claimed quite a lot of the tickets went to the former CM’s loyalists. The Congress high command also let Hooda take on the reins. It's believed the Grand Old Birthday party did no longer forge an alliance with the Aam Aadmi Birthday party (AAP) by reason of Hooda’s opposition.

Selja was on the hunt for a ticket from the Uklana (SC) Assembly seat but the Congress leadership was no longer fascinated with her vacating her Sirsa Lok Sabha seat. The BJP tried to capitalise on Selja’s disgruntlement, with Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar even asking her to quit Congress and join the BJP.

Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Singh Surjewala was also upset with the Hoodas calling the shots in Haryana.

Congress insiders told Indian Express that a blame game is made up our minds to go off after the celebration’s surprised drubbing.

Caste factor

Jats, who make up about 27 per cent of Haryana’s population, have a powerful presence in 40 of the ninety Assembly constituencies. Chief ministers from the Jat community have ruled the Hindi belt state for 33 years since 1966 when Haryana was carved out of Punjab.

The Jat versus non-Jat divide often plays out in Haryana. The BJP has banked on the consolidation of non-Jats votes to come to power within the state.

In 2014, the BJP ended a decade-long tenure of Bhupinder Singh Hooda, a key Jat leader, to form the govt... The saffron celebration picked Manohar Lal Khattar, a Punjabi Khatri, for the CM post. Its incumbent Nayab Singh Saini is from the OBC community.

The Congress’ major reliance on Jat voters to come to power seems to have backfired. The Grand Old Birthday party fielded 28 Jats within the Assembly polls, while the BJP gave tickets to most effective 16 Jat candidates. Jats were angry with the saffron celebration over several issues, including farmers’ agitation and the wrestlers’ protest.

The Haryana Assembly has 17 Scheduled Caste (SC)-reserved seats. If the Congress would have retained its Dalit strengthen base, it may possibly probably perchance have stopped the BJP juggernaut.

The Jannayak Janta Birthday party (JJP)’s alliance with Chandrashekhar Azad’s Aazad Samaj Birthday party and INLD’s tie-up with the Bahujan Samaj Birthday party (BSP) may have divided the Dalit votes, benefitting the BJP, as per India As of late.

Urban, rural leave out

The BJP has fared well in Haryana’s urban areas, equivalent to Gurgaon and Faridabad, over the past decade. This time, the saffron celebration has won the Gurgaon and Faridabad Assembly seats. Its candidate has also won the Ballabgarh constituency.

The Congress was awaiting to make a splash within the rural areas. The Grand Old Birthday party won 45 rural Assembly segments within the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year. This was a reason on the back of alarm for the BJP, which launched a campaign backed by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to woo rural voters and grassroots celebration workers, as per India As of late.

It seems it worked for the saffron celebration, catching the Congress without warning.

Why Congress needed victory in Haryana

A win in Haryana would have added to the Congress’ revival streak within the elections. The saffron celebration has been celebrating its better-than-expected performance within the Lok Sabha results.

After bagging five of the ten Lok Sabha seats in Haryana, the Grand Old Birthday party was confident of trouncing the BJP within the Assembly polls.

The Grand Old Birthday party has no longer won any Assembly election in northern India since 2018, barring Himachal Pradesh in 2022. The Haryana victory would have changed that, with the celebration coming near the upcoming Maharashtra and Jharkhand elections on a more sure footing, as per Indian Express.

The Congress’ win would have also helped it in furthering the narrative that the BJP is losing its hold on parts of north India. The saffron celebration lost seats within the Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Bihar, while retaining seats in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

The loss has left Congress with something to introspect. It should never come up with the money for to make similar mistakes upfront of the choice two crucial state elections.

With inputs from agencies