The BJP wants a repeat of its Lok Sabha performance in the upcoming Assembly elections. The party is doubling its efforts to galvanise support in Haryana, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Jammu and Kashmir where polls are scheduled over the next six months.
Intensive planning and discussions are under way to decide the future of the party’s alliance with the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC).
On Saturday, all seven MPs from Haryana met party president Rajnath Singh at his residence to discuss strategy. There is a strong demand from party cadres for the BJP to go it alone in the State.
ADVERTISEMENT
“In the recent Lok Sabha polls, the BJP contested eight seats and won seven, the HJC contested two and lost both. The BJP’s performance in 52 of the 72 Vidhan Sabha seats was very good; therefore, the cadres are of the view that the party can do well on its own, it doesn’t need the HJC. But the decision will eventually be taken at the highest level,” a party functionary said. The BJP got 34.7 per cent of the vote share in Haryana while the INLD grabbed 24.4 per cent and the HJC got a paltry 6.1 per cent. A tie-up with the INLD has already been ruled out, and if the party high command decides to continue with the HJC, the cadres want a lion’s share of the seats.