BJP seeks to undercut anti-incumbency in Haryana with an invisible Khattar

The BJP, by affecting a change of the CM, is attempting to turn the page on its prospects in Haryana, signalling to the electorate to vote for it in spite of Khattar rather than because of him, in a redrawing of the last nine years

As the campaign for the Assembly election in Haryana reaches a crescendo, the silence and invisibility of former Chief Minister and current Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar rings loud. Mr. Khattar, the Chief Minister of Haryana for nine years, before he was replaced by incumbent Nayab Singh Saini just before the Lok Sabha election got underway earlier this year, was deeply involved in deciding tickets for party candidates before the Assembly election campaign was rolled out, but he has been largely absent since.

Even in Karnal, an area that he has represented both in the State Assembly in the past and currently in the Lok Sabha, Mr. Khattar’s face is missing from the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) posters. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has addressed four public meetings in the State, including one rally in Palwal on Tuesday — the first one was in Kurukshetra on September 14, followed by Sonipat on September 25, and Hisar on September 28, before Palwal on Tuesday. Out of these, Mr. Khattar was present only at the rally in Hisar.

“He (Mr. Khattar) was replaced as Chief Minister largely because the BJP wanted to undercut anti-incumbency in the State, especially among party workers,” a senior leader of the BJP, who did not wish to be named, said. A decision was made to coalesce the BJP’s campaign behind Mr. Saini’s face, along with that of Mr. Modi, which in Karnal at least seems to be having a mixed result.

In Karnal, voters have been vocal over their dissatisfaction with the Khattar administration, especially on his excessive reliance on the bureaucracy, and his digital push. “Karnal has had the distinction of being the CM’s city for nine years. What have we got in return for it? There is no new factory, the infrastructure hasn’t improved either, and law and order is in tatters. We can’t step out at night,” 46-year old Vinod Kumar, a photographer who works at a local studio in Karnal city, said. Having voted for the BJP in the last two elections, Mr. Kumar said he would go along with the larger mood this time.

Ishwar Kumar who belongs to the Pal community, an Other Backward Class (OBC) group, is a salesperson by profession. He rues the pockmarked roads that he has to suffer on his daily commute. “Under Mr. Khattar’s regime, the bureaucracy ruled. His scheme to digitise land records, started in good faith, but he let the bureaucracy have a free run. Now people are running from pillar to post to get the records corrected,” Mr. Kumar said.

He has been an ardent BJP supporter and is not planning to shift in this election season, with Mr. Saini’s appointment as CM persuading him to stay. “The BJP, for the first time ever, gave the opportunity to an OBC. No one from our community ever got jobs in the Congress regime that worked only for Jats or SCs (Scheduled Castes). Appointing Nayab Singh Saini, they (the BJP) showed this could change,” Mr. Kumar said.

The BJP, by affecting a change of the Chief Minister while accommodating Mr. Khattar as Union Minister, is attempting to turn the page on its prospects in Haryana, signalling to the electorate to vote for it in spite of Mr. Khattar rather than because of him, in a redrawing of the last nine years.

Published - October 01, 2024 07:50 pm IST