While Congress allies shared the party’s “recipe for disaster” after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a stunning hat-trick in Haryana, Rahul Gandhi’s party leaders seemed upset at being sidelined by their allies. This was seen as Maharashtra Pradesh Congress president Nana Patole, as tensions now shifted to Maharashtra, slammed UBT Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut’s remarks, saying “Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has won a losing battle”.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the BJP’s performance will be repeated in Maharashtra, where assembly elections are likely to be held in mid-November.
Speaking more about Raut, Patole said, “Since we are in a coalition, the leaders should not see each other.” We will talk about this in the (seat sharing) meeting today. There are different conditions in Maharashtra and Haryana and we will work better in Maharashtra. I don’t know the basis of what Raut is saying, but you can’t blame someone you work with when you are associated with a coalition.”
The Congress suffered a stunning loss to the BJP in Haryana, and the BJP made a dramatic turnaround in the state, winning 48 of the 90 assembly seats. The Congress ended up with 37 and failed to use the 10-year anti-incumbency against the BJP. This was the best tour of the BJP since the state came into existence in 1966. Independents won 3 seats and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) got 2 seats, according to Election Commission data released on Tuesday.
However, Fadnavis, who was criticized for the unexpected loss in the Lok Sabha elections, asserted that the BJP’s hat-trick in Haryana showed that people had overcome the opposition’s reports on various issues and exposed the drama of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Expressing confidence that the BJP will repeat its performance in Haryana in Maharashtra, he said, “Those who live in a fool’s paradise will now come down”.
Echoing Fadnavis, Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule said the Haryana election results send a strong message against the “fake story” of the Congress, which he said affected the BJP in the recent Lok Sabha elections. He expressed confidence that the Mahayuti government in Maharashtra, which includes the BJP, Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde as Minister, and Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), will win again in the upcoming state elections.
Bawankule admitted that though the BJP lost some seats in the Lok Sabha elections, it was because of the narrative being pushed by the opposition. Referring to the Haryana election results, he said, “This was a test for us, and we have cleared it. What happened in Haryana will be repeated in Maharashtra. “
(In the Lok Sabha elections, the Maha Vikas Aghadi – comprising the Congress, Sharad Pawar’s NCP, and Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena – shocked the ruling Mahayuti by winning 30 of the 48 seats.)
CONGRESS ALLIES ARE TRAINING GUNS WITH GUNS
A day after the Congress suffered a crushing defeat in the Haryana election, Rahul Gandhi’s party allies defended it on the grounds of a bad plan, which exacerbated the party’s defeat. Taking a swipe at his partner Congress for its poor show in the Haryana assembly elections, Sanjay Raut said that Congress feels that it can win on its own without the support of allies.
“The INDI Alliance could not win in Haryana because the Congress realized that it will win alone and does not need another ruling partner. Congress leader (Bhupinder Singh) Hooda Ji felt that we will win. If they (Congress) had shared seats with Samajwadi Party, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) or other smaller parties, the results would have been different. The way BJP fought the election is very good. BJP has won a losing battle. Everyone believed that the Congress was winning but they still lost the war, and the BJP won because they have a well-organized system, the administration, we need to give them this,” said Raut.
Another Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA, Priyanka Chaturvedi, demanded that the Congress be watched.
“The INDI Alliance fought very well in the J&K assembly elections and they are all determined to form the government. In Haryana, Congress had to lose. Even after contesting the rule, BJP formed the government in Haryana. I congratulate them. Congress must reveal the reasons for its defeat.”
BIG WIN IN MAHARASHTRA: PM MODI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the Congress is an indifferent party and a “hate-mongering” factory that seeks to divide Hindus and pit one community against another.
The BJP won the Haryana assembly elections and it reflects the mood of the country, Modi said, adding that “in Maharashtra, we should get a big victory.”
Modi said that Maharashtra has never seen such rapid development of projects. Under the Congress regime, the same speed and scale was seen in terms of corruption.
“Congress is a useless party and a factory for spreading hatred. “Congress is not interested in development and heritage, we are paying attention to both,” he said.
“Our aim is Viksit Bharat for the development of the poor, farmers, youth and women,” he said.
Congress is creating fear among Muslims and turning them into its vote bank, Modi said.
Further targeting the Congress, Modi said the opposition wants to divide Hindus and pit one community against another.
RAHUL GANDHI ANALYZES HARYANA RESULTS
Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi said the party is analyzing the “unexpected” results in Haryana and will inform the Election Commission about the complaints received from various districts of the state. In his first response after the shock defeat in Haryana, the former Congress president thanked the people of Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir for their support.
“I am very grateful to the people of Jammu and Kashmir – INDIA’s victory in the state is a victory for the Constitution, a victory for democratic self-respect,” he said.
“We are analyzing the unexpected results of Haryana. We will inform the Electoral Commission of complaints from many constituencies,” he said.
“Our heartfelt thanks to all the people of Haryana for their support and to our ‘Babbar Sher’ staff for their tireless hard work,” he said in a post in Hindi to X.
“We will continue to fight for rights, social and economic justice, truth, and we will continue to raise your voice,” said the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
WHAT THE POLICE COME OUT OF IS NOT GOOD
The 2024 Haryana election results had predicted that the Congress was expected to defeat the ruling BJP in Haryana, and was expected to win nearly 60 seats in the 90-seat assembly where the majority was 46.
According to C-Voter, the Congress was expected to win 50-58 seats, while the BJP was expected to win 20-28 seats.
Confident of the poll results, Congress leader and former Chief Minister of Haryana, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, said that the people of Haryana have decided to bring the old party to power.