The ruling BJP’s campaign for the Haryana Assembly election, slated for October 21, is again focused on issues surrounding national security, be it the abrogation of Article 370 or the Balakot airstrike against terror camps.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in their recent rallies in Haryana, set the tone as they drew special attention to the issue of abrogating provisions of Article 370, claiming that the BJP-led government had accomplished what the successive governments had failed to do in 70 years.
“The surgical strikes of 2016 and Balakot air strikes had given BJP political dividends in Haryana during the 2019 parliamentary polls. They (BJP) have carried forward the election campaign for the upcoming Assembly polls on the same lines . Abrogation of Article 370 is the latest addition to the campaign,” Head of the department of Political Science with Dyal Singh College in Karnal Kushal Pal told The Hindu .
“BJP has already been successful in making in roads into the ‘non-Jat’ vote bank during the past five years of its rule in the State. And now with the evoking sentiments of nationalism in the backdrop of ‘national security’, they are attempting to lure the Jat community, which has a substantial participation in the Armed forces,” Prof. Pal added.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP won all the 10 seats in Haryana, securing a 58% vote share. A Lokniti-CSDS post poll survey revealed every second person from the Jat community voted for the BJP.
“After the 2016 violent protests over Jat reservations, the BJP was seen as the only party that could reduce the political clout of Jats by taking advantage of the consolidation of non-Jat votes. However, with every second person from the Jat community having voted for the BJP in 2019 Lok Sabha poll, it seems that issue of 'nationalism and national security' could have very well worked for the party in garnering votes of the 'Jat' community, and therefore, the party is yet again using these issues as their key poll plank. As far as for the non-Jat community, the BJP has been successful in presenting that the Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar is possibly the most reliable non-Jat leader after Bhajan Lal,” said Mr. Kushal Pal.
Riding high on confidence after it's recent win in the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP has set a target of winning at least 75 seats under its “Mission 75” campaign in the 90-member State Assembly. In 2014 assembly polls, the BJP had won 47 seats with 33.20% of vote share.
While the BJP is all set to cash in on the issues surrounding national security, the party is also reaching out to the people, claiming that the State government has effectively fought against corruption and nepotism and has given a new direction to the State politics by ensuring complete transparency in the system during its past five-year of the rule.
The Opposition parties, including the Congress, the Indian National Lok Dal, the Jannayak Janta Party, have dismissed the claims and accused the BJP of adopting policies, which have been against all sections of society.
