Barely two months after he took over, the BJP registered a damp tally in the Lok Sabha polls in Haryana – winning only 5 of the state’s 10 Parliamentary seats, down from the sweep of 10 seats it had in 2019 as well as 2014.
But the party as well as Saini’s government did not stop wooing the OBCs through developmental and welfare works. The promise of a monthly assistance of Rs 2100 to women, 2 lakh jobs and gas cylinders for Rs 500 were attractive to voters from backward classes. In addition to that, the Lakhpati Didi and Drone Didi scheme aimed at women engaged in SHGs, increasing the crops under MSPs to 24, and increasing the annual income limit for creamy layer from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 8 lakh, helped it reach out to the backward classes.
Despite resistance from the leaders in the state unit, including former home minister Anil Vij and union minister Rao Inderjit Singh declaring claims to the top post, the BJP leadership stood by him. The party’s poll in-charge for the state Dharmendra Pradhan was quick to remind everyone that Saini is the party’s CM face, and his name had been declared by home minister Amit Shah.
When a majority of pollsters pointed at a Congress sweep, Saini remained unfazed. “Aanth tareekh ko janta degi jawab, aur yeh Congress kahegi EVM kharab hai (The people of Haryana will respond on October 8, and then the Congress will say that EVMs are at fault),” Saini had said. Turns out he was right.
Published 08 October 2024, 16:43 IST