Page 9 - 15NOV2019E

politics

BJP is down but not out,

hint Assembly elections

The poll results of Haryana and Maharashtra suggest that the micro issues have played a
huge role in the party’s below-par performance in both states, reports rakesh rocky

he results of the latest showed that the “micro issues” have amid fightback from the Nationalist
assembly elections in apparently played a role in the party’s Congress Party (NCP). The Congress-NCP
Maharashtra and Hary- below-par performance in the state, alliance garnered 98 seats. The two
ana have come as a sur- where it built its campaign around parties had contested the 2014 elections
T prise as everyone was “macro issues” like abrogation of Article separately, and, between them, won
expecting Bharatiya Janata Party 370. Local factors also played a key role 83 seats.
(BJP) to win both the states com - in Maharashtra, where the saffron party In Haryana, where the BJP won 47
fortably. The saffron party’s under- did not get an overwhelming mandate as seats in the 90-member assembly in
whelming show in the two-state it was hoping for. 2014, the party emerged the single larg-
assembly elections, especially in The BJP, in alliance with the Shiv Sena, est force, but won 40 seats, six short of a
Haryana, has left it with issues to managed to win Maharashtra by bag- simple majority. The Congress, which
ponder on even though it looked set ging 161 seats in a 288-member assembly surprised everyone, winning 31 seats,
to form governments there as well compared to 185 in 2014, when they had more than double of the 15 it did in
as in Maharashtra. contested separately. However, the oppo- 2014. And the Jannayak Janata Party
The poll outcome in Haryana sition seemed to have emerged stronger (JJP), a splinter group of the Indian

Tehelka / 15 november 2019 9 www.Tehelka.com