As the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) in Haryana eyes to win 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state, it faces a tough task in the traditional bastions of Congress and Indian National Lok Dal.
A beleaguered BJP is waging a tough fight to retain seven seats that it had won in 2014 elections and at the same time, looking to break into three parliamentary seats including Rohtak, Sirsa and Hisar, where the saffron party had tasted defeat in the previous polls.
While Rohtak is acknowledged as the bastion of former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Sirsa and Hisar constituencies are considered stronghold of Indian National Lok Dal, main opposition party in Haryana.
“The party is confident of winning all 10 Lok Sabha seats of Haryana in general elections,” says Subhash Barala, Haryana BJP chief.
On party’s election strategy for Lok Sabha polls, Barala says, “This time, we have chalked out a micro-management election strategy. From lakhs of party workers to senior party leaders, everyone will connect to the people of Haryana during election campaigning.”
The saffron party has set up its control room for Lok Sabha polls in Rohtak, known as a political capital of Jatland Haryana.
Barala, an MLA from Tohana was appointed as the president of the party state unit in November 2014 after the then president Ram Bilas Sharma became a Cabinet Minister in the Manohar Lal Khattar Government.
A first-time MLA, Barala is party’s Jat face and his appointment was seen as a balancing act after Manohar Lal Khattar became the non-Jat Chief Minister of Haryana.
The BJP, which had contested the 2014 Lok Sabha polls in alliance with Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) of former CM Bhajan Lal’s son Kuldeep Bishnoi, has already made it clear that it will go it alone in the 2019 polls. HJC had merged with the Congress.
Barala says, “The party will contest on its own on all 10 parliamentary seats in Haryana. The BJP is in a strong position and no alliance is required in Haryana.”
In an interview with The Pioneer, Barala spoke on party’s strategy for polls, election agenda, Jat agitation and other issues.
Excerpts from the Interview:
What will be party’s main election agenda?
The party will be focusing on three key issues including overall development undertaken by Modi Government, national security and Grih Kalyan schemes launched in the past five years. Development in all sectors, be it economy, agriculture or infrastructure, have been undertaken by the BJP led Central Government. Also, schemes like Ujjwala Yojana, Jan Dhan Yojana, pension schemes and many others have benefitted people at the grass root level across the country. As far as national security is concerned, the country is safe under the Modi Government. These three issues among the achievements of BJP led Haryana Government will be our poll agenda.
What is your view on prospects of the BJP at the national and state level in the Lok Sabha polls?
In Haryana, we are confident of winning all 10 parliamentary seats. At national level also, we are hopeful to win more seats than the last 2014 general elections under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The state will witness a multi-cornered electoral fight this time. There is BJP, Congress, INLD, Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), Aam Aadmi Party, BSP-LSP alliance in the fray. Who do you think as your main challenger in the polls?
Congress is a divided house in Haryana and everyone is aware of party’s heavyweight Randeep Surjewala’s defeat in Jind bypoll. On the other hand, JJP is just a new name given to INLD. JJP has INLD cadre, its leaders, its ideology and principles. JJP and INLD are two sides of the same coin. On the other hand, AAP and other parties have no existence in Haryana. I feel that it is the people of Haryana who will ultimately decide the fate of all political parties and there is no challenger for us in the electoral fight.
What will be party’s strategy for Hisar. Rohtak and Sirsa Lok Sabha seats, where the BJP had lost in 2014 general elections?
This time, the party has drawn up a micro-level electoral management strategy. Panna Pramukhs appointed by BJP will be reaching out to each voter in the state, atleast thrice ahead of the voting day in Haryana. Panna Parmukhs are being appointed in all constituencies and we are focusing on Hisar, Rohtak and Sirsa seats. A strategy has been chalked out to connect with the core BJP voters as well others in these three constituencies and persuade them to support the BJP in polls.
There were reports of an alliance between the BJP and INLD. BJP’s alliance partner, SAD in Punjab had also evinced interest in forming an alliance in Haryana as well. Your take on this.
BJP will contest on its own on all 10 seats in Haryana. We will not form an alliance with the INLD. As far as SAD is concerned, there were no talks of alliance with them in Haryana.
Congress and Indian National Lok Dal has alleged that mining scams, land scams, recruitment scams among others have taken place under BJP’s regime in Haryana. Your take on this.
The opposition parties have no issues to raise… All their allegations are baseless and false. The BJP has given a transparent and graft-free government in Haryana. The opposition parties have only leveled baseless allegations but could not give even a single evidence to back it.
It is being said that there is a Jat Vs non-Jat divide in Haryana after the Jat reservation agitation in 2016. Several Jat leaders have announced to boycott the BJP in Lok Sabha polls over their unfulfilled demands. Do you think it will affect BJP’ poll prospects and impact the poll outcome in 2019?
There is no divide on caste lines in Haryana. The opposition parties have made it an issue to take political advantage out of it. BJP has worked with a principle of Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas. We don’t indulge in caste based politics. The Jat community is not against the BJP but there are few leaders who are propagating this… Khaps, where Jats have a key role in Haryana, have always extended support to various initiatives of BJP government and had also appreciated the progammes like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao. The BJP has support of all communities. People of the state are aware of the fact that few leaders are trying to use the agitation issue for their vested interests.
BJP is looking for new faces on atleast seven Lok Sabha seats in Haryana. It is being reported that names of Union Ministers Arun Jaitley, Maneka Gandhi among other political heavyweights are in the list of probable candidates from the state. Your comments on this
There is nothing like this. Everyone will know about the candidates after the official announcement by party high command.
As the elections have been pushed to sixth phase in Haryana, when will the BJP announce its candidates in the state?
We have submitted the list of probable candidates on all seats in the state. The party has strong candidates. We believe that the party high command will announce the candidates soon.
What are your views on BJP Government’s performance in Haryana? Assembly polls are also scheduled to be held later this year. What would be party’s priorities before that?
The BJP had made a maiden government in Haryana in 2014 and has been able to break the nexus of corruption at different levels. We have provided good governance, transparent and graft-free system. Till now, government jobs have been provided to over 60000 youth and various schemes were started for the welfare of farmers. The BJP led State Government has been working to generate more jobs and for the welfare of farmers and poor section of society and will move forward on the same path.