Ellenabad bypoll: Two defeats in two years a setback to BJP-JJP coalition

Deepender Deswal

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Tribune News Service

Sirsa, November 3

It is straight second loss in a by-election in two years for the Bharatiya Janata Party-Jannayak Janta Party (BJP-JJP) coalition government in Haryana.

The Bharatiya Janata Party had also suffered a defeat in November 2019 in the Baroda byelection at the hands of the Congress.

Now, the loss in Ellenabad to the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader Abhay Singh Chautala, who had resigned eight months ago to support the farmers’ agitation, has come as a double whammy for the ruling parties.

Pawan Kumar Bansal, a political expert, stated that back-to-back defeats within the first couple of years was a setback to the party in power that should be a serious cause of concern.

The Baroda Assembly seat, won by Congress’ Shrikishan Hooda in 2019, fell vacant on his demise in 2020. The BJP-JJP had fielded celebrated wrestler Yogeshwar Datt on the Bharatiya Janata Party ticket. However, greenhorn Indu Raj Narwal registered an impactful victory by about 10,000 votes.

Similarly, the Ellenabad bypoll was almost a challenge for the ruling coalition when sitting MLA Abhay Singh Chautala tendered his resignation.

The Bharatiya Janata Partybrought in Sirsa MLA Gopal Kanda’s brother Gobind Kanda in the party fold and fielded him as nominee. The Kanda brothers — Gopal and Gobind — launched a spirited campaign which was boosted |

by the Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala.

However, the development plank failed to help the ruling coalition in the by-elections.

The Opposition leaders even accused the ruling BJP of resorting to caste polarisation and misusing the official machinery in the elections.

“The successive defeats in bypolls must serve as a warning to the ruling coalition. It needs to ponder over the prevailing issues, including infrastructure, employment avenues for youth, industrialisation etc, which can attract people rather than banking on caste combinations and permutations,” the political expert stated.

Focus should be on real issues

The coalition needs to ponder over issues like infrastructure, employment, industrialisation etc which can attract people rather than on caste combinations and permutations. — Pawan K Bansal, political expert