Defying all exit polls, the BJP on Tuesday registered a hat-trick victory in the Haryana Assembly election, inflicting a big jolt to the Congress, which had overestimated its performance and prematurely thought it was time to celebrate.
The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly poll results, on the other hand, unveiled a comfortable win for the National Conference-Congress alliance, which kept the BJP under check and decimated the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) which ran the government in the previous Assembly.
The BJP won 48 seats in Haryana, while the Congress was restricted to 37, with the INLD winning two and Independents three in the 90-member House. The election proved lucky for Chief Minister Nayab Saini who had replaced Mr Manohar Lal Khattar, Chief Minister since 2014, only six months ago.
In Jammu and Kashmir, the National Conference (NC) won 42 seats, its electoral partner Congress secured six, while the BJP won 29 seats. The PDP was reduced to just three seats, and the CPI (M) and the AAP won one seat each in the 90-member Assembly.
NC leader Omar Abdullah was all set to take over as Chief Minister of the Union Territory. He won from both Ganderbal and Budgam seats.
The BJP retained power in Haryana for a third consecutive term, and its arch-opponent Congress was set to enjoy power in Jammu and Kashmir with its bigger partner National Conference.
The results overall showed the magic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s programmes and policies and his campaign, acknowledged by voters in both States. The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly is all set to witness BJP’s impressive membership, while Haryana has gone all the way to affirm where its heart lay.
In the great upset of the day, the Congress has been rejected by Haryana voters for a third consecutive time. Early trends did not show this. At 8.45 am, the counting of votes showed the Congress ‘winning’ the poll. The picture was just the opposite in just one hour.
The BJP was leading in more seats and the trend continued till the BJP trounced its arch-rival in the state convincingly in a steady counting of votes. The Congress till the last did not believe it could lose the election.
Former Congress Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda won his Garhi Sampla-Kiloi seat by a comfortable margin of 71,000 votes. Contesting on Congress ticket, wrestler Vinesh Phogat was initially trailing in Julana after leading but was finally declared winner by over 6,000 votes. The Congress attributed its victories to its support for farmers.
As Congress charged that the Election Commission website was slow in updating data on the results, it was getting clear the BJP was reducing the anti-incumbency factor due to 10 years of its rule irrelevant in the state.
The Haryana elections beat all exit polls which had predicted a clear win for the Congress. The Congress started distribution of ‘laddoos’ early in the day, but the celebrations had to be paused and abruptly halted as a different picture started emerging.
It was quite a jolt for the Congress and hopes of the party ending its ‘drought’ in the key northern state were dashed. The BJP showed it can be at its deadly best when under pressure and is being taken for granted.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called up Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini as the BJP went on to script history in the state. PM Modi congratulated Mr Saini for the party’s victory and for his stellar performance in the Ladwa constituency.
Bringing Mr Saini as Chief Minister, the BJP targeted the backward, thereby creating history. Although he had only six months of work to show, he had the support of Prime Minister Modi’s influential campaign, telling people the Congress was known for its record of corruption and a lacklustre concern for the backward and Dalits.
Breaking the alliance with the JJP proved the right step for the BJP. The party that was kingmaker in the last election got no seat in this election.
Among 90 seats of the J and K Assembly (43 in Jammu and 47 in Kashmir), BJP contested just two seats in Kashmir, concentrating on Jammu. In early trends, it was leading in 29 seats in Jammu.
The Congress maintained the BJP stayed away from Kashmir because of the abrogation of Article 370 and the reduction of the state to a Union Territory. The Congress fared poorly in the Jammu region.
The Jammu and Kashmir elections, which gave an impressive comeback to the National Conference, saw a record turnout of voters. Beating fears of a fractured mandate, the Union Territory has given a clear verdict.