CHANDIGARH: Nayab Singh Saini is man of the match for BJP in Haryana, having helped it overcome 10 years of anti-incumbency to return it to power with an absolute majority and with its highest seat count. Replacing Manohar Lal Khattar with Saini as CM was seen as a desperate move to polarise Scheduled Castes (SC) and backward classes in March. Six months later, the experiment, it turns out, has worked well for the saffron party.
BJP was able to capture a good chunk of SC/BC votes in addition to those of communities in the general category; OBCs and SCs have traditionally gone with Congress or regional parties. Khattar's alleged controversial statements that landed BJP in a spot, an untamed bureaucracy and issues like Parivar Pehchan Patra (PPP) and property IDs and inaccessibility of bigwigs had led to resentment among the party's cadre. Another threat came in the form of Congress consolidating votes, especially after BJP's loss in five seats in Lok Sabha elections.
Picked by Khattar, Saini was initially dubbed as "weak" to be the CM. Both had started their political careers from RSS, with Saini being a computer operator. However, decisions taken by Saini during his 56 operational working days and coordination with RSS members helped the party.
Haryana Jammu & Kashmir Haryana Alliance View i Party View Seats: 90 Results Majority: 46 BJP 48 CONG 37 INLD 2 AAP 0 OTH 3 Results : 90 / 90 BJP WON Jammu & Kashmir Alliance View i Party View Seats: 90 Results Majority: 46 JKNC 42 BJP.
