BIPOLAR FIGHT

Politics in Haryana has bor­ dered on the bizarre this year. On March 12 came the inex­plicable resignation of Mano­ har Lal Khattar, sans any warning, his exit as much of a surprise as his installa­tion as chief minister in 2014.

- Anilesh S. Mahajan

Soon after came the BJP’s parting of ways with the Dushyant Chautala­led JJP (Jannayak Janta Party), ostensibly over seat­shar­ ing for the Lok Sabha polls. Then, in May, three Independent MLAs with­ drew support to the new Nayab Singh Saini government, leaving it hanging by a tenuous majority. The Lok Sabha re­ sult gave no clear indication either, with the state’s 10 seats evenly split between the Congress and the BJP.

As Haryana now braces for a state election, each side is busy honing strategy to stake a claim on the 90­seat assembly. There is, of course, the weight of history— the state has never given any party more than two continuous terms. If the Bhu­ pinder Singh Hooda­led Congress held the reins from 2004 to 2014, the Modi wave in 2014 swept the BJP to power for the next decade. This time, the BJP is battling both anti­incumbency and a resurgent Hooda and is having to go the extra mile in its bid to defy history.

With his OBC credentials, Saini is expected to shore up the BJP’s non-Jat OBC support to make up for the losses in the Jat vote