New Delhi: A creditable rearguard fightback by regional satraps against the BJP’s dominance in Maharashtra and Haryana has infused fresh hopes among regional chieftains of opposition parties in Jharkhand and Delhi, the two states next in line for assembly polls.
While polls in Jharkhand, where the BJP is in power, are due later this year, elections are slated for early next year in the national capital. The BJP’s vote share in the two states, which had gone to polls on October 21, fell by a big margin, even though it got a majority in Maharashtra in alliance with the Shiv Sena and emerged as the single largest party in Haryana.
A senior Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader, who did not wish to be named, noted that the vote share gap between the saffron and opposition alliance in the state was near 21 per cent in the Lok Sabha polls, a margin which he added could be bridged with a swing of 10 per cent.
Pointing out the BJP lost over 22 per cent votes in Haryana and 10 per cent in Maharashtra compared to the parliamentary polls, he said the Congress-JMM alliance could hope to dislodge the government headed by Chief Minister Raghubar Das.
If the opposition alliance rallies around a leader, then it could oust the BJP, he claimed. JMM is pitching for its leader Hemant Soren to be declared chief ministerial candidate in the state. In Delhi, the AAP believes that it can get the better of the BJP and retain power as Kejriwal will have an advantage in the absence of any chief ministerial face from the saffron party so far. Political observers have credited opposition veterans Bhupinder Singh Hooda in Haryana and Sharad Pawar in Maharashtra for the opposition’s better than expected show. (PTI)
