NEW DELHI: Most exit
polls
had all but written off the opposition in the
Maharashtra and
Haryana elections. But the contest turned out to be tighter than expected, throwing up some surprise
winners
. Here's a look.
WINNERSNARENDRA MODI
The PM’s reputation as India’s pre-eminent campaigner and voter-getter remains intact. A vote for BJP, he said, would strengthen the party in both states and at the Centre. He boldly pitched ‘national’ issues in state arenas, looking to insert himself as a major factor. He led from the front, but his bid to shore up the relatively green leadership in Maharashtra and Haryana has met with mixed results.
SHARAD PAWAR
The Maratha strongman faced his toughest battle and has lived to fight another day. He got the better of Congress in numbers, with NCP set to claim the LoP post, and survived a determined BJP onslaught on his sugar-belt bastion. He campaigned vigorously even as ally Congress seemed to lack the will and leaders. Marathas, a significant part of the electorate, saw in his likely eclipse a further diminution of their clout, and rallied around him. In fact, he played the sub-nationalist card shrewdly to characterize a court-directed ED inquiry as Delhi durbar’s attack on regional aspirations.
AMIT SHAH
The BJP chief, now with additional responsibility as home minister, did his bit of campaigning and oversaw candidate selection as well as election issues. He supplemented Modi’s nationalist pitch, adding sharper hues like NRC and CAB. But his new and big charge left him with less time to devote to party affairs. The BJP will be hard put to find someone with his energy and grasp of detail when he steps down
BHUPINDER SINGH HOODA
In the shade since he lost in 2014, Congress’s Jat face made a comeback, mending fences with rival Kumari Selja and wresting charge of the party campaign from a reluctant leadership. An electoral veteran, he saved Congress and showed that he is the party’s only grassroots leader in the state.
DUSHYANT CHAUTALA
Emerged as the young face Jat voters were seeking and bested more established names in the Chautala clan. His JJP accommodated Congress rebels, some of whom have won. A backbencher in the 16th LS, Dushyant, with a clutch of MLAs, will be a key factor in the hung House. Whether he gets a power stake is to be seen, but he has cornered the Chautala legacy and made space for a regional party in a small but volatile state.
DEVENDRA FADNAVIS
Set to return as CM. The BJP-Sena’s unprecedented repeat win also comes under a Brahmin CM, something that had seemed an impossibility in Maharashtra politics till 2014. But BJP rebels have hurt the party and Fadnavis must brace himself for another bruising joust for influence with assertive ally Shiv Sena. His gamble on high-profile defections of Maratha leaders from Congress and NCP did not pay the expected dividends even though it might have shielded him from a caste backlash. Poor performance in Vidarbha will rankle.
UDDHAV & AADITYA THACKERAY
Even though Shiv Sena’s tally has dipped by 6 seats, BJP’s loss of 25 seats – a far cry from its expectation of large gains – is likely to help Uddhav Thackeray regain some of the ground he had ceded to his saffron partner in the last five years. Without Sena, BJP is now far short of a majority. Uddhav did not waste any
time hinting that he intends to bargain for a split term for CM and a 50:50 share in the ministerial council. And with his son Aaditya (29) becoming the first from the family to contest and win an election, the Thackeray flag is still fluttering.
SURVIVORMANOHAR LAL KHATTAR
With BJP likely to get a chance to form the govt under his leadership, Khattar has survived BJP’s not-so-impressive performance. A severe backlash from Jat voters apart, poor feedback and deficient supervision of bureaucracy rendered him vulnerable. The experiment of pitching a Punjabi in a ‘Jat’ state had to run into turbulence. But improved infrastructure, transparency in recruitment, ‘beti bachao beti padhao’ implementation and a honest reputation helped him
retain Modi-Shah’s trust.
COLLATERAL BENEFICIARIESSONIA & RAHUL GANDHI
The unexpected bounce in Haryana and the marginal improvement in the Maharashtra tally is heartening news for Congress bosses after the LS debacle. But the downside is that this came about despite their perfunctory involvement in the campaigning. While local incumbencies and caste plays gave a boost to the party, for the leadership, the larger dilemma of forging a credible narrative remains a challenge.