NEW DELHI: The BJP is bracing itself to go solo in Haryana, with the party claiming to have made deep inroads into the Jat vote base, which has traditionally flocked to the Congress or the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD). The BJP is drawing comfort from the likelihood of a multi-cornered contest to stay away from scouting allies.
BP leaders claim to have gain foothold in the electorally dominant constituency in the state and hope there would be comfortable upswing in vote share in the Lok Sabha polls to help the party bag maximum seats without the help of any allies.
“The Jind Assembly bypoll verdict has shown the BJP can win against the might of all other parties in the state. There is evident disarray in the Opposition ranks.
“Besides, non-BJP parties in Haryana don’t have space to forge the kind of grand alliance as being attempted elsewhere. Therefore, I am of the considered opinion that the BJP doesn’t need to go for any alliance in the state,” Subhash Barala, Haryana BJP chief, told this newspaper.
The BJP is believed to have benefited from division in the Jat votes to form a government in the state for the first time. “The prevailing perception about the BJP in Haryana will change, since Jats have been the beneficiaries of pro-farmer initiatives, including Centre’s direct cash transfer and the pension scheme of the state government.“Jats being an agrarian community have also benefited from ‘Bhavantar Yojana (price difference support),” added Barala.