CHANDIGARH: Nayab Singh Saini is man of the match for BJP in Haryana, having helped it overcome 10 years of anti-incumbency to return it to power with an absolute majority and with its highest seat count.
Replacing Manohar Lal Khattar with Saini as CM was seen as a desperate move to polarise Scheduled Castes (SC) and backward classes in March. Six months later, the experiment, it turns out, has worked well for the saffron party. BJP was able to capture a good chunk of SC/BC votes in addition to those of communities in the general category; OBCs and SCs have traditionally gone with Congress or regional parties.
Khattar's alleged controversial statements that landed BJP in a spot, an untamed bureaucracy and issues like Parivar Pehchan Patra (PPP) and property IDs and inaccessibility of bigwigs had led to resentment among the party's cadre. Another threat came in the form of Congress consolidating votes, especially after BJP's loss in five seats in Lok Sabha elections.
Picked by Khattar, Saini was initially dubbed as "weak" to be the CM. Both had started their political careers from RSS, with Saini being a computer operator. However, decisions taken by Saini during his 56 operational working days and coordination with RSS members helped the party.
The early backing of Saini as CM face by the BJP high command, which included PM Modi, home minister Amit Shah and BJP president J P Nadda, induced confidence among party workers. Certain moves like the announcement of raising the limit of the creamy layer, correction of PPPs, property IDs, reservation for backward classes for promotion of employees and special packages for SCs too played their part.
Donning the role of an aggressive politician, Saini countered the Congress's "Haryana Maange Hisab" campaigning by raking up alleged corruption during the previous Hooda govt, citing the "parchi-kharchi" system.
In his personal capacity, Saini's gesture of attending to all those visiting him or being accessible till late evening hours and giving a patient hearing to workers and visitors made a difference, according to party office-bearers.
Replacing Manohar Lal Khattar with Saini as CM was seen as a desperate move to polarise Scheduled Castes (SC) and backward classes in March. Six months later, the experiment, it turns out, has worked well for the saffron party. BJP was able to capture a good chunk of SC/BC votes in addition to those of communities in the general category; OBCs and SCs have traditionally gone with Congress or regional parties.
Khattar's alleged controversial statements that landed BJP in a spot, an untamed bureaucracy and issues like Parivar Pehchan Patra (PPP) and property IDs and inaccessibility of bigwigs had led to resentment among the party's cadre. Another threat came in the form of Congress consolidating votes, especially after BJP's loss in five seats in Lok Sabha elections.
Picked by Khattar, Saini was initially dubbed as "weak" to be the CM. Both had started their political careers from RSS, with Saini being a computer operator. However, decisions taken by Saini during his 56 operational working days and coordination with RSS members helped the party.
The early backing of Saini as CM face by the BJP high command, which included PM Modi, home minister Amit Shah and BJP president J P Nadda, induced confidence among party workers. Certain moves like the announcement of raising the limit of the creamy layer, correction of PPPs, property IDs, reservation for backward classes for promotion of employees and special packages for SCs too played their part.
Donning the role of an aggressive politician, Saini countered the Congress's "Haryana Maange Hisab" campaigning by raking up alleged corruption during the previous Hooda govt, citing the "parchi-kharchi" system.
In his personal capacity, Saini's gesture of attending to all those visiting him or being accessible till late evening hours and giving a patient hearing to workers and visitors made a difference, according to party office-bearers.
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