In key Haryana battleground, voters say Congress ahead but BJP not out of the contest

For Jai Kishan Sharma, a young marketing officer for a multinational company in the village of Takhana in neighbouring Karnal district, the work done by the local BJP MLA — making drinking water available and a cleanliness drive — is what will matter come October 5, when all 90 Assembly seats in the state go to polls.

Comparing Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini with his predecessor and current Union Cabinet Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, a BJP worker says, “Khattar saab was also fine, just that he was a bit slow in taking decisions. But Saini saab is young, energetic and decisive.”

The BJP, sensing that livelihood issues will matter to voters more than anything else, has slightly adjusted its strategy. It is focusing on the state government’s track record over the past decade rather than solely relying on the image and popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It is the first time in a decade that the PM is not front and centre in an election campaign by the BJP.

On the campaign trail, the party is focusing on creating jobs transparently — “bina parchi, bina kharchi (jobs without recommendations or bribes)” — the Saini administration’s decision to increase the annual income limit for the creamy layer among Other Backward Classes (OBCs) from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 8 lakh, and a host of sops announced for government employees, backward communities, and panchayat chiefs.

The party is also banking on caste arithmetic, attempting to consolidate the non-Jat communities and split Dalit votes. State BJP leaders hope that the votes of Jats, one of the most electorally influential communities in Haryana, will get divided between the Congress, the Indian National Lok Dal, and the Jannayak Janata Party.

“PM Modi is not a factor in this election. This is about the performance and the programmes of the BJP government in the last 10 years in Haryana,” claims Sunil Kumar, a BJP worker in the constituency of Ladwa in Karnal district from where the CM is contesting. At present, the Congress holds Ladwa.

With the issue of unemployment having dented the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections in Haryana a few months ago — the party lost five of the 10 parliamentary seats to the Congress — BJP workers are eager to talk about the Saini government’s efforts to create jobs. This, they believe, will blunt the Congress’s narrative on joblessness.

With joblessness a big issue in Haryana, several coaching centres have mushroomed across Haryana, promising to get the youth ready for English proficiency exams and visa interviews. Photo credit: Liz Mathew

“My son got a job without any recommendations. I have not given any money to anyone nor have I asked someone to help me,” claims Sushil Kumar, a BJP worker at a poll rally in Pratapgarh. Another BJP worker, who identifies himself as Raj Kumar, claims his daughter-in-law also got a job without resorting to paying bribes.

Despite several voters anxious over a lack of jobs, agrarian distress, and governance bottlenecks,  BJP supporter Asha Devi who runs a small tea shop along the highway near Panipat enthusiastically speaks up about the Saini government’s programmes for pregnant women, free ration, and housing schemes for the poor. “I want the BJP to return to power. I pray to God it happens,” she says.

But when asked about unemployment, Asha Devi looks away. “My son has not got a job,” she says. Her husband joins in when she mentions inflation. “They (BJP) will further increase the prices once the elections are over, they will raise the prices of gas cylinders too,” he says as Devi nods.

Several people in this part of Haryana are also disappointed with the BJP. In the town of Thanesar in Kurukshetra district, bamboo curtain sellers Akash Kumar and Manju Devi are unhappy with the party because they did not get a pucca house despite paying Rs 53,600 in 2019 to get a house under the PM Awas Yojana. “We took a loan from a private lender and I have already paid almost Rs 1 lakh in interest. But there is no news of the house we were promised,” says Kumar.

“The BJP made a lot of promises and fooled us,” says their neighbour Imli. “The BJP MLA who got our votes just does not listen to us. We will not vote for them now.”

Takhana resident Jai Kishan Sharma says despite the BJP government’s “last-minute efforts”,  the youth still want to go abroad. “Look at the coaching centres lined up along the streets in every town in Haryana,” he says. These centres have mushroomed across the state, inviting students to train for English proficiency exams and prepare for visa interviews as they dream of moving to the West in search of a better life.