Much is at stake for BJP and Congress in Maharashtra and Haryana as the Election Commission today declares results for the assembly elections that were in both the states on October 21. The BJP is currently in power in Maharashtra and Haryana, while the Congress was in power in both the states only five years ago.
Full coverage
Results of the Maharashtra and Haryana assembly elections are important because they come just five months after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The BJP-led NDA swept the Lok Sabha elections and returned to power with a stronger majority, while the BJP alone won more than 300 seats. As for the Congress, the 2019 Lok Sabha elections saw its second-worst performance as it barely managed to win 51 seats. The worst performance was in 2014 when it won 45 seats, its lowest tally.
Thus, in a way, the assembly election results in Haryana and Maharashtra will be the first major indicator of the BJP’s popularity after Narendra Modi became India’s prime minister for the second term in May.
Months before the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress had been able to overthrow BJP governments in three important states-Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. But the party failed to carry this momentum to the Lok Sabha elections. The Congress is also facing a major leadership crisis and defeats after defeats in elections across the country have demoralised its cadre. Another defeat this time would only worsen its situation.
Meanwhile, for the BJP, it is important for it to continue its victory march in assembly elections and build up the momentum for upcoming assembly elections in Bihar, Delhi and Jharkhand, and later in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
In the first 100 days of his second term, PM Modi has taken some bold steps like scrapping J&K’s special status under Article 370, enacting the Triple Talaq Act, building momentum for Citizenship Bill, and a nation-wide National Register of Citizens. A back to back victory in Maharashtra and Haryana will further motivate the BJP workers. These victories are also important for JP Nadda, BJP’s acting president, who is expected to take over as full-fledged BJP presidents in coming months.
In 2014, when assembly elections were held in Haryana and Maharashtra, the BJP was not in power in either of them.
MSN Marathi : वाचा महाराष्ट्र विधानसभा निवडणूक २०१९चं सविस्तर वार्तांकन
In Maharashtra, the BJP and its ally Shiv Sena had been out of power for 15 years, while the Congress-NCP ruled the state. In Haryana, an erstwhile Congress bastion, 2014 was the first time that the BJP was able to form a government in the state. Its leaders had been in power but that was in the Janata Party era.
When results for 2014 assembly elections were announced, the BJP won 47 seats in Haryana and formed a government on its own. In Maharashtra, it emerged as the single-largest party winning 122 seats in the 288-member assembly. It later formed a post-poll alliance with the Shiv Sena, that had won 63 seats, and formed government in Maharashtra.
By today’s end, it will be cleared if 2019 will be a repeat of 2014 or have the voters have decided something else.
