Even though BJP won in the constituency of Panchkula, it remained at a margin of 10 percent of what the party had claimed. Union Minister and Ambala MP Rattan Lal Kataria had claimed that they would win with a margin of 75,000 votes. The party was only able to garner 5,385 votes in the Assembly polls. Rattan Lal Kataria, in a recent press conference, had also stated that the BJP would win at least 85 of the total 90 seats in Haryana. “Though the party has set a target of 75 seats in Haryana, my assessment says we will bag 85 this time, if not more,” he had said. After the declaration of BJP’s win on Thursday, the MP addressed the media at the Government PG College, Sector 1. When asked about his calculation, the MP said, “The calculation I had been been making, was in accordance to the MP elections that just took place. We have five seats in Ambala including Panchkula, Ambala Cantt and Ambala City, Yamuna nagar and Jagadhari. We only lost four.” Asked if the BJP relied heavily on national issues in the campaigning, Kataria said, “We (the party) will need to sit and discuss this. I cannot say anything.” “Though the BJP has won in this constituency, it’s pride is lost and they now know where they stand, not just in the constituency but in the state. The ministers should think twice before making tall claims wherever they wish,” said a senior party worker of the BJP, who did not want to be named.
