‘We arrested trend of Dalits moving away, brought some back… Even Jats did not stand by Congress’: BJP Haryana in-charge

Even our campaign on jobs – “bina parchi, bina kharchi” – was hugely successful and we emphasised on it during our campaign. A few Congress candidates campaigned against the scheme and instilled fear among voters that a non-BJP government would scrap it.

While CM Nayab Singh Saini’s clean image helped the party on the ground, the voters have a bond with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose speech about the Opposition ridiculing him struck a chord with people in villages. They felt the Lok Sabha results in Haryana were unfair to him.

So, did the BJP manage to get Dalit voters back into its fold?

Not completely, but we managed to arrest the trend (of them straying away) and brought some back.

Another thing that was seen in this election was that protests did not matter. Even the Jats did not stand by the Congress. Had they done so, Rohtak would have registered a higher turnout than 66%. In contrast, constituencies like Bhiwani and Kurukshetra saw more people come out to vote.

But PM Modi did not address as many rallies in the state as he did in 2019…

It was a strategic move. Instead of the PM addressing smaller rallies, we decided he would address four big ones, which covered all the regions of the state.

What message does this send for the coming elections?

The message is that the people are with Modi. Lies can win you one election but you will not succeed every time. The people have seen the hollowness of the Congress’s promises. In Himachal Pradesh, the Congress has not kept its promises and its guarantees have become a millstone around the party’s neck.
In contrast, we have the credibility of fulfilling promises. People have placed their trust on what we have done rather than what the Congress has promised to do.

What is the role of the BJP’s organisation?

We are an organisation-based party. I have worked for two years in Haryana and seen how the BJP has workers at the booth as well as district-level. The Congress, on the other hand, does not have its people in many booths. The Congress is a leader-centric party.

Will Saini continue to be the CM?

He will be the CM of the BJP government.

How much did replacing Manohar Lal Khattar with Saini as CM in the last minute help?

Saini may be the first CM who won the hearts of people while being in power for 56-57 days. People trusted him as an experienced BJP leader (Saini rose up the BJP ranks from district president to state chief). He is the son of a fauji and was an MP too. He won the people’s confidence.