Decode Politics: Why the BJP govt in Haryana waived pending water bills for rural households

According to the CM, the move is likely to benefit around 29 lakh water connection holders. The government also said pending water bills between January 1 and December 31, 2023, for rural households will not attract penal interest or surcharge.

What is the BJP’s political game plan?

The BJP in 2014 won 47 seats in the 90-member Assembly and came to power with an absolute majority for the first time. Five years later, it fell short of the majority mark and won 40 seats where all ministers except Khattar and Anil Vij lost. The 2016 agitation by the Jats, who constitute around 24% of the state’s population, demanding reservation was seen as one of the most important factors for the BJP’s reduced numbers.

Insiders say this time the year-long protests in 2020 over the now-repealed farm laws could be the party’s bane as the Opposition has raked up the issue repeatedly in a bid to keep the memories of the agitation alive in the minds of voters. The BJP’s aggressive rural push is being seen as a move to counter this.

Rural voters have traditionally voted for the Congress or regional parties such as the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), the BJP’s post-poll ally. The BJP is looking to reach out to them as it had not done too well in the rural areas in the 2019 Assembly polls. The majority of its 40 seats came from urban areas. In contrast, the JJP and the Congress led by Bhupinder Singh Hooda fared better in these areas.

The ruling party had swept all 10 Lok Sabha seats of the state in 2019 with a 58.2% vote share but saw its vote share dip to 36.7% in the subsequent Assembly polls while the Congress garnered 28.2% of the votes.

How has the Congress responded?

The Congress has termed the move a mere eyewash. “Even in this cold, the government is releasing water for tube wells at 10 pm. How can any farmer use water at such a time? They spoke of doubling farmers’ income by 2022 but today the farming community is in distress. Farmers are struggling to get even a basic amount of water for irrigation,” Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Bhupinder Singh Hooda told The Indian Express and added the move will not serve any purpose as there is water supply to households.

What else is the BJP doing for rural voters?

The BJP is also looking to reach out to rural voters through its Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra. Through the yatra, central and state schemes introduced by the BJP government over the past five years are being showcased while officials are addressing people’s problems on the spot.

“The yatra will reach every household and connect people… Clear instructions have been issued to district administration officers that issues of the people should be resolved on the spot. Therefore, the teams of all departments should not leave the venue until all the applications are addressed. It is the responsibility of field officers to ensure prompt resolution of public grievances,” the CM said.

Khattar recently announced that the Haryana government shall sign an MoU with African nations. As a part of the agreement, farmers from the state shall be sent there to learn better agriculture or irrigation techniques. Similarly, the government is also aiming to provide subsidised travel to Vietnam to enable them to acquire better agriculture-related knowledge.