Haryana by-polls: Every vote counts as victory margins have been very thin in the past

NEW DELHI: BJP has termed its party president Amit Shah sharing a platform with DP Yadav at an election rally as a ‘random appearance’, but the incident indicates how the contest in Haryana hinges on local factors.

As many as 28 out of 90 seats to the Haryana assembly were decided by a margin that was less than 5,000 votes. In some seats, the margin was less than a thousand votes, including Uchana Kalan where INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala scraped through with a 629-vote win "In this situation, local factors and individual candidates, ‘prabhavshaali’ people in districts become very important," said political commentator and psephologist Abhay Kumar who has done a study of the state.

The Yadav community is influential in areas around Alwar in Rajasthan and in some parts of Haryana, with former minister Ajay Yadav of Congress having held the post of leader of the Congress Legislative Party in the state.

"That could be a reason for his presence," said Kumar.

"When INLD is campaigning strongly and putting up a fight in almost every seat, BJP has decided to go it alone by breaking its alliance with the Haryana Janhit Congress led by Kuldeep Bishnoi. Bishnoi in turn has an understanding with former minister Gopal Kanda in certain seats. So it’s an election where things are more confusing than before," said Abhay Kumar. Many Congress stalwarts have also joined BJP in recent months.