The Anger Of The Jat

Incumbent Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar paid for his high-handed ways with Jats, who make up 30% of Haryana

- Kaushik Deka and Anilesh S. Mahajan

Even as a neck-and-neck battle ensued between the BJP and the Congress in Haryana on October 24, the one person who emerged as a clear winner was Dushyant Chautala. Although his Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), formed just 10 months ago, won 10 of the 90 assembly seats, that number was enough to elevate him to the position of kingmaker.

In the process, 31-year-old Dushyant not only denied the BJP and the Congress an opportunity to rule Haryana on their own, but also added an unexpected twist to the political developments in the state. Five months ago, the BJP won all 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state, fuelling widespread speculation on how many seats the party would add to its 2014 assembly election tally of 47. Both the Congress and regional force Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), crippled by rebellion and infighting, were struggling to retain their home turf. The JJP, on the other hand, was viewed as a young party, led by a young leader, pitted against the veterans of Haryana politics.

The assembly election results busted some myths and showed a glimmer of hope for a revival of opposition forces in the country. As evident in past elections—Delhi, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh—the charisma of PM Narendra Modi and the robust electoral machinery of BJP president Amit Shah cannot always ensure a victory for the BJP. Unlike the Lok Sabha elections in 2014 and 2019, when a Modi wave swept the country, electorates in state polls choose winners on the basis of the state government’s performance, promises held out by the challengers and the leadership offered by contesting parties. Modi and Shah have partially succeeded in stitching winning electoral combinations beyond caste equations, like in Uttar Pradesh in 2017, but the Haryana verdict proves that caste still matters.