Bikers go party

Naveen S Garewal in Chandigarh

CHIEF Minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s love for motorbikes is not a plain secret: as a swayamsevak years ago he preferred the now-extinct Rajdoot to sputter around deep inside the Haryana hinterland, promising a sarkar that relied more on people than power. Into the fourth year in office, years later, Khattar managed scores of Bullets — in fact reportedly demanded a Rajdoot — for an excursion to Jind where BJP boss Amit Shah came riding pillion with state party chief Subhash Barala. The Feb 15 party was fabulous; the power play was perfect — the CM drove an unnumbered bike, and no one really knew if he was carrying a driver’s licence. The people, eager to hear about some grand welfare scheme, were left counting the bikes and the number of leaders. 

There was some math involved with the party calculations. The state BJP had boasted of a swarm of 1 lakh bikes. Each booth in the state was told to send five volunteers. The party has 47 MLAs and 8 MPS, even if each of them managed 1,000 people from their respective constituencies, it would have had a 55,000-plus crowd. 

Optimistic calculations put the gathering at a measly 25,000 as evidenced by nearly one-fourth of the vacant chairs. Many young bikers to the rally left midway as the BJP could not get their petrol tanks full, as per ‘promise’. The bikers were also supposed to get two helmets worth Rs 350 each and a good jacket. But what they got were plastic helmets meant for construction workers and very thick polythene jacket whose worth lay only in adding colour to the rally.

The CM's aides are directly blaming state party president Barala, whom Shah praised, and state party in-charge Dr Anil Jain. The CM has reportedly stored the state intelligence inputs on which MLA brought how many people. This could be used during ticket distribution for the 2019 elections. 

As for preparations, the state government had virtually come to a standstill for almost a month. The secretariat bore a deserted look. Even the BJP's legislature party meeting was held in Suraj Kund where the cabinet informally discussed only Shah's visit to the state. 

Larger game plan 

Within the state BJP, it is considered a good omen to sound the poll bugle from Haryana. During the 2014 elections, Narendra Modi, BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, had launched the party's campaign from Rewari. The party bagged 8 out of 10 parliamentary seats. Haryana embraces Delhi from three sides. Of the 19 BJP-ruled states in the country, Haryana fits the bill on all counts for a 'Sri Ganesh' (auspicious beginning). 

Party chief Amit Shah reeled out dry stats to leave all in awe. Most attendees went home believing in the generosity of the Centre and benevolence of the Khattar government. The Shah message did not mince words: Give us all 10 seats. Why leave two - Sirsa and Rohtak — for others?

Shah came from the helipad to the rally pillion riding. Christened 'Yuva Hunkar rally', the objective was to connect with the youth who form a major chunk of voters. These youth, the party believes, are booth-level workers from all 90 assembly segments. The choice of venue, too, was well thought out: Jind lies in the Jat heartland. The party wants to send out a signal that its support extends beyond traders and urban voters. Shah had held a three-day camp in Rohtak last year. So, Jind's choice is a tactical move to demoralize political opponents on the same lines. The timing of the rally almost coincided with ‘Balidaan Diwas’ that Jat leaders observe on February 18 in memory of those who died during the job quota stir.

No change at top

The rally happened in the backdrop of the Jats threatening to restart their agitation for reservation in government jobs. Only a few days before Feb 15, the state government reached a compromise with the Jat leadership. The BJP appears confident of its vote bank among non-Jats and is hoping to make roads into the Jat votes that have traditionally gone with the Congress and the INLD. The BJP ambition looks fine, but in recent times the credibility of the All India Jat Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti (AIJASS) has dipped with allegations of misappropriation of funds against AIJASS leaders. Shah praised Barala, who is under a cloud for his son's involvement in the Vernika Kundu case. Khattar, who is also state home minister, too, came in for admiration despite his repeated failure to handle law and order. Shah credited the CM with “eradicating” corruption and ending regional development disparities, a charge the previous Congress government had faced.

Shah avoided saying much against the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) that has a considerable influence in the area. He made it clear that BJP's main contest in 2019 will be with the Congress. 

Signs of worry

Everything is not honky-dory with the BJP at the moment. Raj Kumar Saini, party's Kurukshetra MP has sounded a warning: “Though I received a formal invitation to attend the rally, I chose to stay away. There is huge public sentiment against the state government for being soft towards those booked for violence during the Jat agitation. Those who suffered are struggling to come out of the shock. But the government has repeatedly succumbed to the pressure. Good governance and transparency are good things, but people's perception too matters,” said Saini.

A senior BJP functionary doubts the party's over-centralised model of administration. “Inability to connect with the grassroots workers is a major issue before the party. Elected representatives are being reduced to a non-entity.”