CHANDIGARH: The BJP has played the Brahmin card in Haryana by appointing its first-time MLA Mohan Lal Badoli as the party’s state president. He replaces Chief Minister Nayab Saini from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) who held the twin charge until Badoli’s appointment.
The BJP’s move underscores the saffron party’s efforts to consolidate its support base outside the Jat community, most of whom are seen to be backing the Congress.
Badoli, who took over on Tuesday, debuted in the Haryana Assembly in 2019 from the Rai seat, the first time the BJP won from this assembly segment. The Jats are the dominant caste in the state, accounting for around 27% of the state’s population.
The Brahmin population is also sizeable. Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda, too, has been trying to woo the community. With Saini coming from the OBC, his predecessor and current Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar from the Punjabi community and the new state BJP chief from the Brahmin caste, the saffron party hopes to enter the assembly elections due in a few months with a strong caste combination in its bid to recapture power by keeping away the Congress.
A sitting MLA, Badoli lost the Lok Sabha election from the Sonipat seat to his Congress rival in a close contest. The BJP has been in power in Haryana since 2014.
First-time MLA from Rai
A sitting MLA, Badoli lost the Lok Sabha election from Sonipat to his Congress rival in a close contest. Badoli made his maiden entry to the Haryana Assembly in 2019 from the Rai seat, the first time the BJP won from the constituency. He is a Brahmin and his appointment underscores the BJP’s efforts to consolidate its support base outside the Jat community.