Haryana assembly elections: Landmark poll irrespective of result

CHANDIGARH: Whatever the results of Haryana state assembly election may be on Thursday, the outcome will be historical for every political outfit contesting this time as well as the people of the state.
If BJP wins, it will make history for its transition from winning just four seats in 2009, 47 in 2014 and returning second time consecutively, as has been suggested by some exit polls.
The party, which had around 9% vote share in 2009 and around 33% in the 2014 assembly polls, has been buoyed by the fact that it was leading on 79 of 90 assembly segments in the Lok Sabha elections held in May this year. It had won all the 10 Lok Sabha seats with huge margins this year.
If Congress party wins, two-time chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda would prove that he has charisma to revive the divided party in Haryana.
However, Congress defeat would indicate rejection of Hooda’s school of politics and would also ensure that infighting in the Haryana unit would finish the party completely in coming years.
Result to be indicator of popularity, relevance
The result would also determine the future of JJP leader Dushyant Chautala, who formed his separate outfit after he was thrown out of INLD by his estranged uncle Abhay Singh Chautala. He emerged as a crowd-puller during election campaign. He will be a possible ‘kingmaker’ if his party wins some seats, as suggested by one exit poll, in case of a hung assembly. The results would also determine acceptance of Dushyant as the real political heir of former deputy prime minister and Jat leader Chaudhary Devi Lal, who was very popular in rural areas of the state.
INLD performance would also determine whether its cadre has faith in the outfit and its incarcerated patriarch Om Prakash Chautala. Going by exit poll predictions, INLD is in a strong position only on one seat, Ellenabad, from where INLD leader Abhay Chautala is seeking re-election.
BJP is brimming with confidence. The saffron party had created an environment in its favour with its catchy slogan, “Abki Baar 75-Par”. Senior leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah had campaigned in Haryana and sought re-election of Khattar on the ground of “transparent” governance, nationalism and abrogation of Article 370.
Analysts too believe that turnout of nearly 68%, which is on the lower side compared with previous years, is an indicator of no change in the regime. As Modi had addressed several rallies this time, this will be a true test his charisma as any dip in number will be seen as the end of the Modi wave. However, Modi will take full credit if the BJP wins.
While addressing rallies in Haryana, Modi told voters that he could remove Article 370 just because he was given majority in the Lok Sabha, thus he needed similar majority in Haryana to develop the state. The results would also determine popularity of Khattar who was declared CM face by the party.