3 Out Of 5: Why BJP Bets Big On Haryana Despite Lok Sabha Setback

New Delhi: Days after the National Democratic Alliance returned to power after securing a majority in the Lok Sabha election, 71 MPs took an oath as ministers in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi. Out of 71 ministers, Haryana is represented by three ministers including, Manohar Lal Khattar, Rao Inderjit Singh and Krishan Pal Gurjar.  

You might wonder why the saffron party gave 3 posts to Haryana despite losing the polls on half of the seats. The party has secured only five Lok Sabha seats out of 10 this election. This is a big setback for the BJP since the party had bagged all 10 seats during the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

BJP's Key Strategy For Haryana 

On Sunday, during the swearing-in ceremony, three ministers from Haryana were inducted into the Modi 3.0 cabinet despite winning just five seats. Selecting three out of five MPs shows that the BJP is concerned about its performance in the state and wants to damage control. 

The loss of five seats is a clear indicator that people are upset with the Modi government on certain issues including the farmers' protest. There can be a reason why Haryana didn't trust the BJP. The farmers were already against the BJP when the ruling party brought now-scrapped farm laws. Now, a recent protest by farmers ahead of the Lok Sabha polls may have been attributed to the anger against the BJP. The coming together of the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress may have also aided the BJP's misery in the state. 

Haryana is all set to conduct assembly polls later this year and reportedly it can be a major reason that the party has decided to choose three ministers from Haryana. The BJP is already below the majority mark in the Haryana assembly and is running the government with the help of independents. The upcoming state assembly elections will also be the test of new CM Nayab Singh Saini's organisational skill and political acumen in the state.