Modi-Shah Duo May Have Taken It Upon Themselves To Win Haryana Assembly Elections

After Home Minister Amit Shah, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is now meeting Haryana leaders ahead of the state assembly election, due in October this year.

On 22 July, PM Modi not only met the newly-appointed state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Mohan Lal Badoli for the first time, but also all the Members of Parliament (MPs) from Haryana.

Badoli said the Prime Minister explained to him the intricacies of booth management. Modi also emphasised party workers' efforts and spreading awareness of the welfare policies.

Similarly, the MPs said Modi asked them to ensure that the fruits of the welfare schemes launched by the central government reach the intended beneficiaries, with a focus on the poor.

The MPs refused to divulge the details of any political discussion and just called it chitchat where Modi recalled the time when he was BJP’s Haryana in-charge before becoming chief minister of Gujarat.

"He (Modi) recalled those times, when the BJP had formed a government with Bansi Lal’s Haryana Vikas Party in 1996, among other things," Rajya Sabha MP Subhash Barala told ThePrint.

While he acknowledged that discussions were also held on the upcoming assembly election in Haryana, Barala said, "Beyond this, it would not be appropriate for me to divulge as to what transpired between us."

However, Jagran reported that the Prime Minister has tasked the MPs with forming a majority government of the BJP in the state. They have been asked to spread awareness about the welfare schemes in their respective constituencies and nearby areas.

The MPs have been directed to counter Congress narratives with facts and data while being conscious of what they say on public forums. Modi also took feedback from the MPs.

The meeting with PM Modi was held before the Budget Session of Parliament. Three Rajya Sabha MPs supporting the BJP — Krishan Panwar, Subhash Barala, and Independent Kartikeya Sharma — were also present.

As were Lok Sabha MPs, such as Naveen Jindal, Dharamvir Singh, and Union ministers Manohar Lal Khattar, Rao Inderjit Singh and Krishan Pal Gurjar.

The BJP could win only five of the 10 seats in the state in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. The other five seats were won by the Congress, giving a jolt to the ruling party ahead of the assembly election.

Ever since, the BJP started preparing for the state assembly election.

Shah has been to the state twice in a month. First, he went to Panchkula on 29 June to attend BJP’s state executive meeting.

His second visit came last week. On 16 July, Shah addressed OBC (Other Backward Classes) Samman Sammelan at Mahendragarh Pali and made important announcements for the community.

One of these announcements was raising the income cap for OBC Non-Creamy Layer from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 8 lakh. Another was 5 per cent reservation for Group B in panchayats and municipal bodies.

During his visit, Shah met Badoli and Chief Minister Nayab Saini. Clearing the air over BJP leadership in the state, Shah asserted that the party would contest the election alone under Saini's leadership.

Days later, Saini met PM Modi in New Delhi on 19 July. Modi sought details of the work being done by the Saini government and the preparations for the Haryana assembly election.

During the discussion, Modi was especially focused on the Agniveer scheme and the benefits for Agniveers announced by the Haryana government recently. This shows that the PM is well aware of the concerns around Agniveer in the state.

Former Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar has invited PM Modi to visit the state and take part in some events. While Modi is yet to visit the state since he took oath as Prime Minister for the third time, he is still very much involved in the state politics.

Shah has already been to the state twice, while the Haryana BJP president has been meeting several central leaders like the party's national president, J P Nadda, and Haryana in-charge Satish Poonia.

Badoli has also met BJP's Haryana election in-charge, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the co-in-charge, Lok Sabha MP Biplab Kumar Deb, and national secretary Om Prakash Dhankhar.

This shows that to fight the anti-incumbency of 10 years, Modi and Shah are very much engaging in the state politics along with other state central leaders. Changing the chief minister earlier this year was a part of this strategy.

In addition, the BJP is relying on its OBC vote bank while trying to reach Brahmins with a Brahmin state president, and Dalits with Krishna Bedi, a Dalit, as state general secretary.

The BJP can also exploit the groupism within the state unit of the Congress party.