What went wrong for the Congress and right for the BJP

Haryana election result 2024: Almost all exit polls had predicted a Congress victory, with many saying the party would easily weather the anti-incumbency wave and secure a comfortable majority. The majority mark in the 90-seat Haryana Legislative Assembly stood at 46. But by Tuesday afternoon (October 8), it was almost clear that the BJP would cross the halfway mark and the Rahul Gandhi-Bhupinder Hooda Congress would be forced to take part once again the opposition benches.

At 4 pm, the BJP’s tally (leads + wins) stood at 50, while the Congress (lead + wins) stood at 35. The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) tally stood at 2. The BJP was in a celebratory mood while the Congress was also in a celebratory mood in introspection mode after a brief rejoicing in the morning.

Haryana Election Result 2024: What went wrong for the Congress and right for the BJP?

Overreliance on Anti-Incumbency: Now it is said that Congress has relied too much on the “anti-incumbency” factor. The BJP has been in power in Haryana for 10 years. However, poll results showed that people are still in the mood to give the BJP another chance.

Consolidation of non-Jat votes: The BJP was able to consolidate the non-Jat vote bank. The Jat community dominates in Haryana and the Congress was banking on relying on their support. It did it. But it is also evident that the BJP has been able to consolidate and garner non-Jat votes. The Congress fielded 28 Jat candidates compared to 16 BJP candidates.

Major incursions into Jat bastions: Not only did the BJP consolidate the non-Jat electorate, but the party even won a major victory in western Haryana, a region with a particularly strong presence of the Jat community.

Old, not so gold for the Congress: Congress relied too much on its old guard. This time, former Haryana chief minister and Congress MP Bhupinder Singh Hooda led the Congress campaign. Hooda, a prominent Jat leader, was at the helm of the state from 2004 to 2014. He is carrying serious allegations of corruption. No major corruption allegations were leveled against the leaders of the BJP camp.

Power struggles within the ranks: The Congress was unable to fully calm the infighting within its ranks, particularly between the Hooda camp and that of Kumari Selja. Although Hooda was not named as the CM candidate, his active presence in the election campaign gave the impression that the party was throwing its weight behind him. Hooda was also instrumental in selecting candidates and 72 of his “loyalists” got the chance.

Riots: Ahead of the elections, the Congress seemed to have wind in its sails. The party received 2,565 applications for a party ticket. Those who failed, rebelled, or left Congress and their support base probably did not vote for Congress.