BJP’s historic Haryana hat-trick, National Conference wins J&K
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday pulled off a historic and unexpected victory in Haryana and was set to form the government for a record third time, and the National Conference-Congress alliance blanked out opponents in Jammu and Kashmir’s first assembly elections in a decade and first as a Union Territory, marking a significant verdict with national ramifications.
The results of the assembly elections – the first since the Lok Sabha polls this summer – buoyed the BJP ahead of crucial contests in Maharashtra and Jharkhand later this year, and sent the Congress back to the drawing board even as it held encouraging signs for entrenched regional outfits such as the NC.
Both elections witnessed largely bipolar contests, squeezing the space for independents and smaller parties.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the victory in Haryana and said it will “resonate far and wide”.
“On such a holy day, the sixth day of Navaratra, lotus has bloomed for the third consecutive time in Haryana. Truth has triumphed in the land of the [Bhagwad] Gita. Development and good governance have won,” Modi said.
Addressing party workers and supporters at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, Modi also criticised the Congress for its “negative” politics.
“Conspiracies are being hatched globally to weaken India’s economy, democracy, society. Congress and its cronies part of this game,” Modi said.
Complimenting the NC on its performance, Modi said the elections in the UT were a huge success for the Union government.
“The election in Jammu & Kashmir was historic in many ways. This election was the first to be held after the complete implementation of India’s Constitution. After seven decades of independence, many sections of the society didn’t have the right to vote. In this election, they got the opportunity to vote for the first time,” he said.
In Haryana, the BJP defied two-term anti-incumbency to score an improbable victory as it posted its highest vote share and seat tally.
It won 48 of the state’s 90 seats, comfortably crossing the majority mark of 46.
Its vote share stood at 39.94%, 3.45 percentage points higher than 2019 in what ended up being a close election with both parties neck-and-neck in terms of votes polled, and also 6.74 percentage points higher than 2014.