BJP’s Hisar victory a wake-up call for Oppn

Deepender Deswal

Ahead of the Assembly elections, the BJP is in high spirits after winning the Hisar Lok Sabha seat for the first time. It is also a wake-up call for the opposition parties — Congress, INLD and Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) — as the BJP has managed to consolidate its position in Hisar district in the last five years. 

The BJP has set high hopes from all seven Assembly seats in Hisar district in view of the solid lead the BJP candidate, Brijendra Singh, took in six of these in the Lok Sabha elections. Earlier, the victory of the BJP mayoral candidate in the Hisar Municipal Corporation elections shows that the party has strengthened its urban base. 

In 2014, the INLD had won three seats (Barwala, Ukalana (reserved) and Nalwa) while the BJP and the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) had won two seats each in the district. Later, HJC legislatures Kuldeep Bishnoi from Adampur and his wife Renuka Bishnoi from Hansi merged their party with the Congress in 2016. Finance Minister Capt Abhimanyu and Kamal Gupta, also of the BJP, represent the Narnaund and Hisar Assembly constituencies, respectively. While INLD’s Nalwa MLA Ranbir Gangwa joined the BJP recently, its Uklana MLA Anoop Dhanak switched loyalty to Dushyant Chautala’s JJP. However, its third MLA Ved Narang from Barwala is still with it. 

With the Congress, the INLD and the Jannayak Janta Party visibly in disarray, the BJP will try to get the maximum mileage out of the situation in the coming Assembly elections due later this year. The margin of the lead that the BJP candidate took in the six of the seven (total nine) Assembly seats of the Hisar Lok Sabha constituency in the district is an eye opener for the opposition parties. Brijendra Singh took a solid lead in Hisar, Nalwa, Barwala, Hansi, Uklana and even in Adampur, which has been a stronghold of Bhajan Lal’s family since 1968. The BJP trailed only in the Narnaund Assembly constituency by 3,030 votes. 

BJP district president Surender Punia says that the party led by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar is fully charged up for the Assembly elections. “In the Lok Sabha elections, the lead of the party in the Assembly segments in Hisar is an indication of its strong position. We will take lead in the Narnaund Assembly segment as well,” he adds. 

JJP spokesperson Mandeep Bishnoi says that the party national and state executive organisations will meet in Rohtak on June 9 to chalk out the strategy for the Assembly elections. “The party cadre is ready for the Assembly elections undeterred by the Lok Sabha poll outcome, as the state elections will have different issues”. 

INLD district president Satbir Sisay says that their party is always battle-ready for the elections. “INLD supremo Om Prakash Chautala has rejuvenated the morale of the party cadre and we will fight the Assembly elections with all our energy”. 

The Congress doesn’t have a district president or an official spokesperson in the district. Bhupender Gangwa, a local Congress leader, says that the state party unit will be restructured soon in view of the Assembly elections. 

BJP had won two seats in Hisar in 2014 

In 2014, the INLD had won three seats (Barwala, Ukalana (reserved) and Nalwa) while the BJP and the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) had won two seats each in the district. Later, HJC legislatures Kuldeep Bishnoi from Adampur and his wife Renuka Bishnoi from Hansi merged their party with the Congress in 2016. Finance Minister Capt Abhimanyu and Kamal Gupta, also of the BJP, represent the Narnaund and Hisar Assembly constituencies, respectively. While INLD’s Nalwa MLA Ranbir Gangwa joined the BJP recently, its Uklana MLA Anoop Dhanak switched loyalty to Dushyant Chautala’s JJP. However, its third MLA Ved Narang from Barwala is still with it.