“It’s not a good sign for us in Haryana,” says a senior Haryana BJP leader while referring to the results of elections to zila parishad – which is part of panchayat bodies – declared on Sunday. The BJP leaders are worried that the results have come just a few days after the party won the Adampur bypoll by a margin of over 15,000 votes in a keenly fought contest. In the polls for Haryana's 46 municipalities too, a few months ago, the ruling BJP had succeeded in maintaining a clear edge on its opponents by winning 22 civic bodies, while its alliance partner Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) won three municipal bodies. Like the panchayat polls, that time too, the principal Opposition Congress had not contested the election on the party symbol. However, the results of panchayat polls are not less than a shocker for the ruling BJP in Haryana. A section of the party leaders sees it as a sign of “anti-incumbancy” with the party in power for the past eight years. The results are more significant as nearly 65% of the population lives in rural areas of the state. The results of Panchkula are more shocking for the party leadership as here it has lost all 10 seats it contested on the party symbol. It happened despite the close proximity of Panchkula to state capital Chandigarh. In Ambala, it could win just two seats which are less than the AAP (which bagged three seats). In Sirsa too, the BJP lost all 10 seats it had contested on the party symbol. In Gurgaon also, it could win just four out of 10 seats it contested on the party symbol. Out of over 400 zila parishad wards, the BJP had contested 102 seats on the party symbol. But it could take home only 22. However, the saffron party leaders claim that in the remaining seats – where the BJP did not contest on the party symbol – as many as 151 winners are those who were backed by the party. “The results have proved that the base of BJP has further improved in Haryana's rural areas,” claims Haryana BJP president Om Prakash Dhankar. However, there are not many who buy this argument, especially when it performed badly on those seats where its candidates contested on the party symbol. Normally, in such scenarios, the political parties field their candidates on party symbols for only those constituencies which are their best bet. Ray of hope for AAP The results are a ray of hope for the AAP which has performed well in Sirsa and Ambala. In Sirsa, it has emerged as the second largest party after the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), while in Ambala it won more seats than the ruling BJP. AAP leaders say that the party has won 15 seats out of over 100 seats it contested on the party symbol. In the recent Adampur bypoll, AAP's Satender Singh could muster just 3,420 (2.6 per cent) votes while remaining behind INLD’s Kurda Ram Nambardar, who had secured 5,248 (3.99 per cent) votes. BJP’s Bhavya Bishnoi had won the bypoll by securing 67,492 (51.32%) votes, while his nearest rival Jai Prakash – who is commonly known as JP – of the Congress got 51,752 (39.35%) votes. The AAP’s dismal show in Adampur bypoll was despite the party convener, Arvind Kejriwal, and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann taking out a roadshow in the assembly constituency. Encouraged by the Punjab results, the party had contested the civic body polls in Haryana as well. Though the results were not encouraging in those elections, the party had succeeded in bagging the post of chairperson in a small municipality. Then, with the principal Opposition Congress not in the fray, as its supporters did not contest on the Congress ticket, the AAP had secured a little over 10% votes. INLD again strong in Sirsa Like AAP, the panchayat poll results may help INLD too in its revival plans, at least in some pockets of the state – especially in Sirsa. With a distant third spot in Adampur bypoll, the INLD too had suffered a huge setback which has been trying to bounce back since 2019. The absence of a significant vote share in the bypoll was bound to demoralise the party workers, especially when even Om Prakash Chautala had campaigned for the party candidate, Kurda Ram Nambardar. Contrary to the expectations of INLD leadership, a large section of Jat voters had consolidated behind Jai Prakash of the Congress. On Sunday, INLD’s lone MLA Abhay Chautala said: “This election has given a message that there was no effect of Adampur bypoll result on people.”
