The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Haryana on Thursday registered a thumping victory in the high-stakes bypoll to Jind assembly segment, suggesting its growing influence in the state ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
BJP’s candidate Krishan Middha won the Jind assembly seat, trouncing his nearest rival Jannayak Janta Party’s Digvijay Chautala by over 12900 votes in the bypoll, seen as a “semi-final” ahead of general elections and also, a referendum on the Manohar Lal Khattar led Haryana Government before the assembly polls due to be held later this year.
While the victory in Jind, considered the heart of Haryana’s Jatland, would prove a major boost for the BJP ahead of general elections 2019 and further its goal of winning all 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana, a loss for the Congress has put it on the back foot.
In Jind bypoll, fought for just nine-month tenure in the State Assembly, the Congress had fielded a sitting MLA and a popular Jat face, Randeep Singh Surjewala, hoping for a positive outcome.
Surjewala is also in-charge of All India Congress Committee’s (AICC) communication wing.
The defeat is more humiliating for the Congress as Surjewala could not even secure second spot and finished at third place in the three-cornered electoral battle.
The BJP, which had never won the Jind assembly seat, had played it safe by choosing Punjabi leader Krishan Middha, son of late INLD MLA Hari Chand Middha.
The bye-election to Jind assembly seat was necessitated following the demise of Hari Chand Middha in August last year. INLD’s Hari Chand Middha had represented the Jind seat for two consecutive terms in 2009 and 2014.
His son Krishan Middha, who contested on a BJP ticket was polled 50566 votes (38.65 percent).
The new entrant, JJP’s candidate, Digvijay Chautala, who is great grandson of former Deputy Prime Minister Chaudhary Devi Lal got 37631 votes followed by Congress’ Surjewala who secured 22740 votes.
Vinod Ashri, candidate of Loktantra Suraksha Party (LSP) of BJP’s rebel MP Raj Kumar Saini was polled 13582 while Indian National Lok Dal’s Umed Singh Redhu finished at fifth spot with just 3454 votes.
About 75.77 polling percentage was recorded in Jind bypoll held on Monday.
With the defeat, the INLD, the main opposition party in Haryana has fallen to 17 seats in 90-member assembly while the BJP now has 48 seats.
The bypoll outcome brought more bad news for the INLD as its candidate not only finished at fifth spot but also lost security deposit.
A total of 21 candidates were in the fray and NOTA (none of the above) was polled 345 votes.
Being held just two months ahead of Lok Sabha polls, the Jind bypoll had evoked national interest. The crucial Jind bypoll also came after last month’s Congress’ victory in three states in assembly polls and BJP’s victory in all five mayoral seats in civic polls in Haryana.
The ruling BJP had gone full throttle in the Jind bypoll and Chief Minister Manohar Lal, his Cabinet Ministers and MLAs had intensively campaigned for the party.
Following BJP’s victory, celebrations erupted outside the party headquarters across Haryana and at Chief Minister’s residence here, with supporters shouting victory slogans and waving the party’s flag.
Chief Minister Manohar Lal has termed BJP’s victory as a stamp of approval by the citizens to his government’s performance.
“The people of Jind have voted for the good governance and transparency of the BJP Government in Haryana,” Manohar Lal said while talking to the mediapersons here.
He said, “After this victory with a margin of over 12900 votes, we are hopeful that the BJP will win on all 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana in the ensuing elections.”
According to the political analysts, caste combinations played a vital role in BJP’s victory in centrally located Jind in Jatland-Haryana.
“The polarization of non-Jat voters ensured a smooth sailing for Krishan Middha in Jind. The split in Jat vote with Randeep Surjewala and Digvijay Chautala in the fray, also proved to be an advantage for the BJP in Jind bypoll,” they say.
Jind is an urban seat with a mix of Bania, Jat, Brahmin, Punjabi and Scheduled Caste voters. The constituency is stated to have around 45000 Jat voters, over 80000 OBC and SC voters, over 11000 Baniya voters, more than 12000 Brahmin voters among others.
After Congress’ embarrassing defeat in Jind bypoll, former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said that the ruling party usually wins the bypoll and the result will not affect the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
“Defeat and victory are part of election process and we welcome the decision of voters,” Hooda said while talking to the mediapersons.
Hooda, however, also expressed apprehensions on tampering of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in the bypoll.
Accepting his defeat, Congress’ Surjewala said, “Manohar Lal Khattar’s caste divide agenda won in Jind while the issue of development is defeated. We hope that BJP’s Krishan Middha will work for the development of Jind constituency.”
When asked if the bypoll outcome is a personal setback for him, Surjewala said, “The party had given me a responsibility and I worked hard to fulfill it. I accept the decision of voters of Jind.”
It was believed that a favorable outcome for Surjewala in Jind bypoll would further cement his position as probable Chief Ministerial candidate for the assembly polls later this year in Haryana.
In 2014 assembly polls, INLD’s Hari Chand Middha had won with 31,631 votes and defeated BJP candidate Surinder Barwala with a small margin 2,257 votes.