Dera did not help BJP get extra seats in Haryana

All the seats where Ram Rahim was perceived to exercise influence, were lost by the BJP.

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The release of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Ram Rahim on parole, before Haryana voted, was expected to help the BJP. However, all the seats where the 57-year-old head of the "religious cult" is perceived to exercise influence, were lost by the BJP.

This is in line with the past results where despite the perception, the cult members have failed to make any impact on the electoral results. This is bound to raise questions within the BJP about the wisdom of accepting support from a convicted individual, especially given the criticism it invites.

As has been the practice of followers being asked to vote for a specific political party, this time too, the Dera followers were instructed to vote for the BJP through internal messaging.

The Congress, on 30 September, had written to the Election Commission to not grant parole to Rahim claiming that he might influence the voters. However, Rahim who had been sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted of raping two of his disciples, was granted 20 days' parole on 1 October by the Haryana government.

However, an analysis of the 8 October result shows that the BJP lost all the five Assembly seats of Sirsa where the headquarters of the Dera Sacha are located. The BJP had contested four seats itself and supported Gopal Kanda of Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP) on the remaining one seat.