The BJP beat 10 years of anti-incumbency to return to power in Haryana despite the narrow gap in vote share between the two national parties. In a sense, the BJP may well be mighty pleased that the exit polls got the Haryana verdict so wrong. The BJP, learning from the Lok Sabha results, executed the Haryana hat-trick with a blend of strategic and tactical moves, a combo of cadre mobilisation and social engineering. The question is whether the BJP can win the battle of perceptions and realities in a state where it was humbled in the Lok Sabha polls, where it trailed the minority shareholder of its alliance. The potency of this combination is manifest in the upsets in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls—specifically for Dhule, Beed, Amravati, Mumbai North West, Mumbai North Central and Hatkanangale.

Source: Indian Express October 13, 2024 03:08 UTC