Right before the Haryana assembly elections on October 5, all parties are aiming to attract the farmers who have the power to decide the outcome in the state.
The ruling BJP is especially focused on securing the votes of this demographic. After facing widespread dissatisfaction due to being in power for 10 years and recent farmer protests, the BJP is eager to make improvements.
Despite key leaders of the party ensuring farmers attend rallies statewide, the main goal of the BJP will emphasize a significant outreach campaign at the grassroots level.
Sources who are familiar with the situation indicate that the BJP plans to carry out door-to-door campaigns throughout the state for this purpose. Leaders at both the national and state levels will engage in discussions with farmers and farmer representatives. Activities such as chaupals in rural areas and tiffin meetings with farmer representatives will be arranged.
The BJP leaders will also provide a detailed explanation of the efforts made by the Narendra Modi government at the Centre and the Haryana government in the state to benefit the farmer community. During their personal visits, BJP leaders will give out pamphlets to farmers, showing how previous governments did not do anything for them except use them as a means to gain votes.
According to a party source, the Central government not only guarantees that farmer insurance benefits the community during difficult times, but the BJP government is also the sole provider of MSP for all 24 crops in the state. The BJP is dedicated to farmers’ well-being, so Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to remove the controversial farm laws passed by Parliament for the community’s benefit.
Even in the Lok Sabha elections held from April to June, the BJP emphasized on prioritizing Annadata (farmers), women, the youth, and the poor. Prime Minister Modi created the term GYAN, which is short for describing these groups he referred to as the sole castes in India.
During the Kisan Mahapanchayat in Kurukshetra on Sunday, farmers decided to prevent the BJP government from staying in power in the state in the next elections. They also revealed their plan to halt trains nationwide in protest against the saffron party on October 3 and declared their intention to boycott voting for the BJP. With this in mind, the BJP has crafted a new plan for the upcoming elections.
During a rally on Monday, the Union home minister Amit Shah reiterated the achievements of the Modi government in the state and criticised the Congress for exploiting farmers for political gain. He also pointed out to the farmers of Haryana how the Congress leadership at the state and Centre took farmers’ lands and sold them at low prices to the son-in-law of the family, referring to Robert Vadra.
Voting for all 90 assembly seats in Haryana will take place in one phase on October 5. The BJP managed to establish the government in both 2014 and 2019. In 2019, with a smaller count, the BJP joined forces with Dushyant Chautala’s Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) to establish the government. Nevertheless, right before the elections, the alliance separated and chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar resigned, and Nayab Singh Saini took his place. Khattar arrived in Delhi, ran for Lok Sabha elections in Kurukshetra, and is now serving as a cabinet minister in the Modi administration. Saini has been chosen as the BJP’s main candidate for the upcoming assembly elections.
The BJP is engaged in a fierce competition with a resurgent Congress under the leadership of Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Despite this, Congress is also grappling with various challenges such as internal division. There is tension within the party due to the disagreements between Lok Sabha MP Kumari Selja and Hooda.