New Delhi: On Saffron Sunday, the Narendra Modi-led BJP wiped out the Congress from two of its traditional bastions Maharashtra and Haryana and was set to form a government for the first time in the northern state.
The Congress, that has ruled Haryana for the past 10 years, slipped to a pathetic third slot.
The BJP, that barely existed in the Haryana Assembly, won 47 seats, a clear majority in a House of 90, and is set to form a government on its own.
Union home minister Rajnath Singh will leave for Maharashtra on Monday, while parliamentary affairs minister M. Venkaiah Naidu will go to Haryana, to oversee the choice of the legislature parties. Devendra Fadnavis is emerging as frontrunner for CM in Maharashtra, while the names of Capt. Abhimanyu, Manohar Lal Khattar, Anil Vij and Ram Bilas Sharma are doing the rounds for Haryana CM.
This was Mr Modi’s biggest popularity test after he took charge of the country four months back. Questions were being raised about Mr Modi’s charisma and credibility after the BJP’s dismal performance in the bye-lections in Bihar, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. “Those who were saying the Modi wave was over after the bypoll results have been given a befitting reply,” a charged and beaming Amit Shah declared at a packed press conference here.
In a tweet, Mr Modi described the victory as “historic results” and “expressed gratitude” to the people of Maharashtra and Haryana. In Haryana, the BJP won 47 seats (a massive gain of 43), and boosted its voteshare from a meagre nine per cent to 33 per cent.
With the Congress drubbed in one election after another, fingers are once again being pointed at the “capability and credibility” of Rahul Gandhi.
