Post Jind, Khattar firmly in saddle

Sushil Manav
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, February 15

Many people in Haryana were in for a surprise when Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose former RSS pracharak Manohar Lal Khattar to lead the first BJP government in the state after the party’s victory in 2014 Assembly poll ignoring claims of old stalwarts.

A little over four years down the line as the party prepares to go to parliamentary elections, Khattar has become the face of the BJP in Haryana, largely because of his functioning and also due to the blessings he enjoys of the central leadership (read Modi).

After the formation of the Congress governments in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the mood was upbeat in the Haryana Congress, as it was being perceived that like these three states, the party would walk away with victory as and when Assembly elections are held in the state.

However, this euphoria proved short-lived for the Congress as within a week the BJP sprung a surprise by winning mayoral polls in five municipal corporations, including Rohtak, the home district of former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and Hisar, a stronghold of Chautala, Bhajan Lal and Jindal clans.

The triumphs were perceived as the victory of Khattar’s leadership as the CM had singlehandedly campaigned in the mayoral polls. The results showed that voters overwhelmingly supported Khattar’s style of functioning and elected his candidates by huge margins.

Later, Jind bypoll only strengthened this perception because the BJP candidate won this seat, which the party could never win, convincingly.

Subhash Barala, state president of the BJP, says that Khattar has provided people the kind of governance they had always longed for since Haryana came into being.

Interestingly, not very long back, Khattar was being perceived as a “weak” and “inefficient” CM due to his government’s “inept” handling of the Rampal issue, Jat quota stir and violence by Dera Sacha Sauda followers after the conviction of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

Not only Opposition parties, but even some MLAs from within the BJP would not have hesitated in criticising Khattar for his style of functioning.

With victories in mayoral elections and Jind bypoll under his belt, Khattar, now, is the undisputed leader in the state BJP – the one who has the Centre’s backing and has the capacity to win elections in his name and the BJP is being seen a frontrunner in the state for the upcoming polls.

The turnaround

• During his over four-year tenure, he was criticised for his mishandling of Rampal issue, Jat quota stir and the violence by Dera Sacha Sauda followers
• However, he is back on the centre stage with victories in mayoral elections and Jind bypoll under his belt