Thursday, 19 December 2024
Thursday, 19 December 2024
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to return to power for a third time in Haryana with a lead in 50 out of the 90 Assembly seats, while in Jammu and Kashmir, the high turnout seems to have gone against the saffron brigade as the National Conference (JKNC) -Congress alliance is set to form the government with leads in 48 out of the 90 Assembly seats.
In Haryana, the Congress is leading in 35 seats with 39.07 percent vote share, improving its performance from the 2019 Assembly polls, when it won 31 seats with a 28 per cent vote share. The BJP has improved its vote share from 36.7 per cent in 2019 to 39.8 in 2024.
Four months after the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections were a litmus test for both the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance and Congress-led INDIA alliance and both the camps exchanged political barbs right into the result day.
Vinesh Phogat: A face of people’s battle
In her debut as a Congress candidate in Haryana Assembly polls, Olympic wrestler Vinesh Phogat pinned BJP’s Yogesh Kumar to the mat in the Julana seat with a winning margin of 6,015 votes.
"This was a people's battle, and they've won and I was just a face. I am thankful to all the love and respect that I've received," said Phogat after her win.
Kejriwal: Never be overconfident
Former chief minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal rubbed salt in Congress’s wounds.
“The biggest lesson of this [Haryana Assembly elections] is that one should never be overconfident in the elections," said Kejriwal.
“No election should be taken lightly. Each election and each seat is tough,” Kejriwal added, indicating the failed attempts at the pre-poll alliance between the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party.
Hooda: Credit goes to Rahul Gandhi
Former Haryana chief minister of Haryana Bhupinder Singh Hooda kept his hopes alive even when BJP was leading in 49 out of the 90 seats.
Congress "will get a majority” in Haryana, said former Chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
"The credit will go to Rahul Gandhi ji, Mallikarjun Kharge ji, Priyanka Gandhi ji, and other leaders," Hooda said.
Manohar Lal Khattar: People responded to Modi’s policies and achievements
Manohar Lal Khattar stepped down as the chief minister of Haryana on March 12 this year amid a lot of internal contradictions in the BJP.
“People have sent out a message. The Modi government’s policies, achievements and way of functioning were leaving an impact on the people,” Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar said as a third consecutive win for the BJP looked certain.
Khattar said that responding to the impact Modi’s policies had on lives, the people of Haryana gave “the mandate to the BJP for a third consecutive term”.
Mohan Yadav: Congress workers don’t like Rahul’s leadership
Madhya Pradesh’s BJP Chief minister Mohan Yadav brought up the old saffron brigade narrative of blaming Rahul Gandhi for the Congress loss.
“While campaigning in Haryana, I had said that Rahul Gandhi (Opposition leader in Lok Sabha) would fail for the third time. People know it well that his leadership is not liked even by Congressmen," Yadav said.
"People rejected Congress on the development issue and the language they used. The lotus (BJP symbol) will bloom for the third time in Haryana,” he added.
Farooq Abdullah: Omar Abdullah will be the CM
Even before the results were out, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah upped the ante for the post-poll government formation formula by saying his son Omar Abdullah would become the next chief minister.
"Omar Abdullah will be the chief minister," the senior Abdullah told reporters when asked who would be the NC-Congress alliance's CM face.
"The people have given their verdict and proven that the decisions taken on August 5, 2019 are not acceptable to them," he said, indicating that the high voter turnout meant the valley is against the removal of Article 370.
Former chief minister Omar Abdullah won in Budgam and was leading in Ganderbal constituency.
Mehbooba Mufti: People faced problems after August 5, 2019
It was a day of disappointment for the Jammu and Kasshmir’s People’s Democratic Party as it won three out of the 90 seats up for grabs. Even PDP president and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter Iltija Mufti lost in Srigufwara-Bijbehara against NC's Bashir Shah.
Mufti said the centre should take a lesson from the decisive verdict of the polls and "not meddle" in the affairs of the upcoming NC-Congress government.
"I congratulate the NC leadership for its spectacular win. I also want to congratulate the people of J-K for voting for a stable government and not a hung assembly because the people faced several problems especially after August 5, 2019. A stable and strong government is very important for the redressal of those problems," Mufti told reporters.
The PDP chief said the Centre should take a lesson from the verdict and "not meddle" in the government's affairs.
"If they do that, it will be disastrous and worse than what has happened to them now," she said.
Tarigami: Lotus will never bloom in Jammu and Kashmir
CPM central committee member Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami secured a fifth consecutive win in Kulgam constituency.
“The writing is on the wall and the vote of the people is against the BJP government and its policies,” said Tarigami as a win for the NC-Cong alliance looked certain in Jammu and Kashmir.
“With a new secular government in place, the people of J-K will surely heave a sigh of relief,” added Tarigami. On being asked if the Lotus would bloom in Kashmir, Tarigami replied, “I think it never will, but what is the problem in waiting.”
