Farmers, inflation, army: Why the BJP is facing public anger in Haryana
The BJP is expected to concede ground in the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections in Haryana, going by public anger and the shift of independent MLAs.
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“I don’t particularly like [the Indian National Congress’ Hisar candidate] Jai Parkash but I will still vote for him,” said farmer Om Parkash, sitting in a park in Hisar. “The BJP has completely failed to provide employment to our youth or control rising prices.”
Parkash is not alone in his discontent. Political winds in Haryana seem to be blowing against the Bharatiya Janata Party.
On May 7, three independent MLAs withdrew support from the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Haryana government, leaving it below the majority mark in the state assembly. All three announced that they would back the Indian National Congress.
This political storm came days before the Lok Sabha polls in the state on May 26.
Scroll spoke with these three MLAs about why they switched from the BJP to the Congress as well as with political observers and voters in Haryana to understand what these developments mean for the upcoming Parliamentary and assembly elections in the state.
What emerged is a strong sense of unhappiness among a significant sections of voters over the BJP governments’ violent reprisal against protesting farmers in the last three years as well as other governance issues in Haryana. This places the Congress in a strong position for the upcoming assembly election later this year and portends...
