India Elections: BJP Wins Haryana, NC-Congress Takes J&K
According to official results reported on Tuesday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a 48-seat majority to form government in the Haryana state Assembly for a third straight time....
Facts
- According to official results reported on Tuesday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a 48-seat majority to form government in the Haryana state Assembly for a third straight time.[1][2]
- India's main opposition Congress party, which last controlled the northern state from 2005 to 2014, said it would lodge a complaint with the election commission against the outcome in the coming days.[2][3][4]
- This comes as exit polls projected Congress to win 50 or more seats in the Haryana state assembly. Earlier this year, the ruling BJP lost half of the state's 10 seats in the national parliament.[3][5]
- Meanwhile, official results from Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) show that a coalition of the Congress party and the regional J&K National Conference (JKNC) won a 48-seat majority to form government there.[6][7]
- Exit polls also missed the mark in J&K as pollsters forecast the first election in a decade in the troubled Muslim-majority region that would end in a hung parliament.[4][6]
- Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini of the BJP is set to continue at the head of the state government, and former J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah of the JKNC is expected to return to office.[3]
Sources: [1]Election Commission of India (a), [2]India Today, [3]Al Jazeera, [4]Reuters, [5]Business Standard, [6]BBC News and [7]Election Commission of India (b).
Narratives
- Left narrative, as provided by The Times of India and Maktoob media. While the loss in Haryana was a gut punch to Congress and its supporters, at least voters in Kashmir can celebrate the end of BJP rule. Narendra Modi lied when he said he wished to win the 'hearts' of Kashmiris, as shown by his immediate stripping of their regional identity and autonomy. For the first time since New Delhi took over, the only Muslim-majority region in India can finally speak its mind without fear of punishment.
- Right narrative, as provided by OpIndia. The BJP's victory in Haryana is far more important than anything Congress has achieved. The opposition focused on minority groups to secure victories in Muslim-majority and Jat-majority areas, but the ruling party was able to retain its stronghold in rural constituencies. Haryana is a Hindu state, and in the face of violence from other groups, it chose to fight back at the ballot box.
