13

Mar

Regime Change in Haryana: Split Or “Fixed Fight”

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Today’s Edition

New Delhi, 13 March 2024

Prof Shivaji Sarkar

The sudden upheaval in Haryana is a contraption and not a crisis. The early morning resignation of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar sighting problems with JJP in seat sharing is “noora kushti”, a fixed game, to outdo the Opposition which has been preparing for a one-to-one fight.

With the latest move, the BJP ensures a triangular fight and sail through. The JJP of Dushyant Chautala has been demanding three seats for Lok Sabha. The BJP had agreed to sacrifice one seat.

The morning has come for surprises with Khattar’s resignation. The message spread was that the BJP is in crisis and had to form the government again. That’s the big ruse. Even without Jannayak Janata Party (JJP)’s ten members the seven independent MLAs and one from Haryana Lokhit Party Gopal Kanda, who reportedly had a murky background, the majority of the BJP led government is intact. In reality the CM need not have resigned.

But Khattar, along with his cabinet ministers, tendered their resignations to governor Bandaru Dattatreya. Later, in a meeting, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) appointed its state unit chief Nayab Saini, an OBC, as legislature group leader.

The development occurs reportedly amid strain in relations between the BJP and the deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala-led Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), primarily related to the failure to reach a seat-sharing agreement for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in the state.

But party insiders say that the “crisis” was managed to ensure that the rift was serious and ‘separation’ was necessary to create a third force led by the JJP, which has some pockets of influence. A BJP leader said that had there really been rift, the JJP leaders would had faced the wrath of ED, CBI and their house could have been attacked by the party leaders. “Never before a political separation had been so smooth”.

Within the party, a semblance of rise of the OBC led by Nayab Singh Saini, a Lok Sabha member, and state party chief was made visible. It was considered a masterstroke. The OBC aspirations are rising and the BJP does not want to miss it. It will have an OBC CM as well as trying to garner OBC votes. The party believes that it would divert people’s attention from its highhandedness with the farmers at the Ambala border and people would vote on the basis of the OBC card. Khattar goes to contest Lok Sabha polls.

Politically, the Haryana government has lost on many counts. The jobs are not there. The Agniveer recruitments for the army disenchanted the youth. Rising prices, farm input costs, lifting of 10-year-old tractors and cars by the police and farmers agitation are not helping either.

In such circumstances there is a natural rise of the Congress, the second most powerful party. The party was taken by surprise though the supposed cracks with the JJP was in the air for the quite a few days. The Congress may feel that the reorganisation of the state cabinet was to its advantage as BJP “loses” an ally. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the chaos in Haryana as evidenced in the split was a reflection of growing people's angst over issues concerning farmers, youth and wrestlers.

He may be partially correct. The visible crack is not real. It is managed by the BJP, which was said to have been rattled by the rise of the Congress and needed crutches to move through the difficult electoral battle. The Khattar government had lost popularity. Apart a Punjabi dominating Haryana scenario for such a long time is an anathema. But BJP turned its weakness into strength. It is getting rid of Khattar, replacing him with a Saini, OBC and carefully propping up the JJP to trifurcate votes and sail through.

In a post in Hindi on X, Jairam Ramesh said, “The chaos that we are seeing in Haryana is a result of pressure from farmers, youths and wrestlers and the same is going to happen in the country too."

Congress leader Kumari Selja said that "it is time for change" and accused the BJP of betraying the youths of the country. The Congress will get them justice, she said.

Whatever, the Haryana poll scenario becomes more interesting with the BJP conceding it was facing problems at the ground level. It has activated all its pracharaks and booth-level workers to hold the fort and manage the difficult poll scenario. In its own assessment the BJP would not be able to win seats in a direct contest with the Congress. But with trifurcating votes, it hopes to corner a sizable chunk at the cost of the Congress.

The Congress also has taken steps to ensure that it remains in the reckoning . Its leaders have told the farmers that it would take care of all of their demands. Ramesh says that whether direct or triangular, people are aware of the fixed matches. The party is confident of winning all the ten seats in the state. (Words 850)

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