New Delhi: The Congress was upbeat over the poll of polls showing a clean sweep by the grand old party in Haryana and an advantage INDIA bloc in Union Territory Jammu and Kashmir and credited the projected victories to the Rahul Gandhi factor, voters’ desire for change and the social welfare agenda.
The Congress managers further stated that after Haryana and UT J&K, the INDIA bloc would also win the forthcoming Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand. The BJP’s loss in three states and the border UT will severely dent the Modi government at the Centre and the trend noticed in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls would be vindicated, they added.
“The exit poll results are more or less on the expected lines. The people of Haryana were fed up with 10 years of BJP rule directly and the people of J&K were fed up with 11 years of indirect saffron party rule in the garb of Centre’s rule. The voters in the border UT had suffered a lot and wanted a change in administration. They were keen to install a regime, which would listen to them and address their problems. The voters in J&K opted for peace, security, social harmony and development by supporting the INDIA bloc,” senior Congress leader Shakeel Ahmed Khan, who was a special AICC observer for J&K, told ETV Bharat.
“Unity among the state leaders and our social welfare agenda attracted the voters, who had seen how a once progressive state became number one in unemployment and crime rate,” AICC secretary in-charge of Haryana Manoj Chauhan told ETV Bharat.
Both Khan and Chauhan agreed that the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi was a key factor behind the Congress win in Haryana after a gap of 10 years and the INDIA bloc’s advantage in UT J&K where the pollsters projected a hung Assembly.
“Rahul Gandhi’s presence certainly gave an extra swing to the Congress campaign in J&K besides the efforts put in by the local leaders. His role in pushing the INDIA bloc during the Lok Sabha elections had an impression on the minds of the voters. His taking up the causes of the common people across the country gave hope to the people in the UT as the Congress listed its social guarantees,” said Shakeel Ahmed Khan.
“We sensed widespread public anger against the BJP government and kept talking about the need to provide jobs to the youth, security to women and just remuneration to the farmers’ produce. That campaign paid off well in Haryana,” said Chauhan.
The AICC observer for J&K said he was confident that the INDIA bloc comprising Congress, National Conference, Panthers Party and CPI-M would be able to form a government on its own but noted that the grouping would be open to like-minded parties if needed.
“I think we will form a government on our own, but we would be open to any like-minded parties if needed once the final numbers are available on Oct 8. The Congress-NC government will provide a healing touch to the people,” said Khan.
Read more: Poll of Polls: Congress Likely to Win Haryana; Hung House in J&K with Edge to Cong-NC
