BJP’s victory in Jind triggers simultaneous poll prospect

Sushil Manav
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, February 2

The result of the Jind bypoll has once again triggered speculation about the possibility of Assembly and parliamentary elections being held together in the state.

Sources said the think tank in the ruling party was seriously considering joint elections after the convincing victory of BJP candidate Krishan Middha in the high-profile Jind bypoll where the Congress had fielded the party heavyweight Randeep Surjewala and the JJP the scion of the Chautala clan Digvijay Chautala,

The parliamentary elections are due in May this year while the Assembly elections in Haryana have to be held in or before October.

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who has so far been ruling out the possibility of joint elections, hinted for the first time on Thursday that this could well be a reality.

“As of now there is no possibility of holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha but in case any such suggestion comes from the Centre, the same could be considered,” Khattar said while replying to a question after Middha’s victory in Jind.

The sources said the BJP’s think tank was weighing the pros and cons of the move and could take a call on the issue soon as the announcement for parliamentary elections could be made any time by the end of this month or beginning of March.

“Jind results have shown that while urban people are by and large in favour of our party, there is quite a bit of support for the BJP in rural areas too at this point of time. Though this had become evident at the time of elections for five municipal corporations in December last, results of the Jind bypoll have reaffirmed this. Hence, there is a section in the BJP which thinks that this is an appropriate time to cash in on this goodwill by holding simultaneous elections,” said a senior leader in the state BJP.

However, there is another section within the party which thinks that the move could prove counterproductive if the Centre faced anti-incumbency during parliamentary poll.

The other section is of the view that “in Haryana, which witnessed the worst kind of quota violence in February 2016, the party is better placed because of the polarisation of votes between Jats and non-Jats. Since Jats are merely 22 per cent and all other political parties barring the BJP have a Jat as CM face, we stand on sound footing. So it may not be wise to risk holding joint elections as the advantage could be lost in the larger issues on which the Lok Sabha poll will be fought.”