Introduction

This article talks about recent elections in two different areas: Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir (J&K). It explains what happened in both places in a very clear and detailed way.

Article Explanation

Haryana Elections:

In Haryana, before the elections, many people thought that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) might lose some power. However, the opposite happened. The BJP not only kept its control over the state but also increased its strength. They won more seats, going from 40 to 48, and their vote share (the percentage of total votes they received) also increased from 36.5% to 39.9%. This means that the BJP has now won three elections in a row in Haryana and will continue to govern the state.

The Congress Party, another big political party, also improved its performance. Their vote share went up by a large margin, from 28.1% to 39.1%, which is a big jump of 11%. However, even though they got more votes, they only managed to win 6 more seats than before, increasing their total number of seats to 37. This shows that while Congress got more support, they couldn’t translate that into enough seats to defeat the BJP.

Two other important parties in Haryana that usually represent the Jat community did very badly. These parties are the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP). Their combined vote share dropped sharply from 21% to just 7%. This drop in support for these two parties helped the Congress gain more votes, but it wasn’t enough for Congress to win.

The reason the BJP managed to win again, despite challenges, is because of a smart political strategy called “social engineering.” The BJP focused on getting the support of non-Jat communities, especially the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). They gave leadership roles to people from these communities, which helped them gather more votes. The BJP also had strong support in urban areas (cities), which gave them an additional advantage.

Despite facing protests from farmers and wrestlers, who were unhappy with the government, the BJP managed to keep its support base solid, especially in cities and among non-Jat communities. The Congress did well in rural areas, but they couldn’t break the strong support the BJP had in both rural and urban areas. Another problem for Congress was its divided leadership, which made it harder for them to challenge the BJP effectively.

Jammu & Kashmir Elections:

In Jammu & Kashmir, the election results were a mix of successes for different parties. The BJP did well in Jammu, which is a Hindu-majority region. They increased their vote share by 5%, going up to 45%, and won 29 seats, keeping their strong presence in that region.

On the other hand, the INDIA bloc, an alliance between the National Conference and Congress, won 4 seats that were reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs) in Jammu.

In the Kashmir Valley, the INDIA bloc had a big victory. They won 41 out of 47 seats, which is a huge success. The People’s Democratic Party (PDP), which used to be very strong in Kashmir, was left with only 3 seats. This means that the INDIA bloc now has a majority of 49 seats. However, some independent candidates (called rebels) also won in a few areas, which slightly reduced the number of seats that the INDIA bloc could have won.

The BJP’s strategy of trying to weaken mainstream political parties in Kashmir did not work. They had also hoped that delimitation (redrawing the boundaries of election areas) would help them, but it didn’t. The people in Kashmir clearly voted for the strongest opposition to the BJP, which in this case was the INDIA bloc.

Omar Abdullah, a leader of the INDIA bloc, is expected to become the next Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir. His main goal will be to push for statehood for Jammu & Kashmir, meaning he wants the region to regain the political power it lost when it was turned into a Union Territory in 2019. The large turnout of voters in the elections is seen as a positive sign that people are interested in having a peaceful and stable government. The central government, led by the BJP, is expected to respect the election results and allow the new government to function properly.

Summary:

In simple terms, the BJP won again in Haryana by focusing on certain groups of people and keeping strong support in cities, while in Jammu & Kashmir, the INDIA bloc had a big victory, especially in the Kashmir Valley. The BJP remained strong in Jammu, but their plan to weaken other political parties in Kashmir did not work.