Article 370, nationalism will trump caste arithmetic in Haryana elections: Manohar Lal Khattar

The overwhelming support for the revocation of Article 370 has broken all caste barriers in Haryana and the BJP’s popularity has soared across all sections ahead of the assembly election, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said on Sunday. Assembly elections in Haryana, Jharkhand and Maharashtra are slated for later this year.

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"After the abrogation of Article 370, the admiration of BJP and its leadership has further increased in Haryana and across the country," the chief minister told PTI in an interview during his ongoing statewide Rath Yatra.

The BJP leader also said that the Narendra Modi-led government has received enormous praise for this bold step and that "those who were critical of the party are now standing with it on this issue".

Khattar said the spirit of nationalism will help defeat the caste-based politics propagated by the opposition parties since several youngsters from across the state serve in defence forces.

"When a martyr’s mortal remains are brought back to his village, nobody asks about his caste…. Nationalism will be the deciding factor in the coming assembly elections. It has thrown caste arithmetic out of picture," the chief minister told PTI.

Taking on the opposition, the chief minister said, "Even on the issues of national interest, the opposition is keen on doing politics and they vehemently opposed the abrogation of Article 370, which exposed the real face of the Congress and other opposition parties."

He asserted it was the Congress’s opposition to this "nationalistic step" that made it a talking point and an issue among the general public of the country, especially in Haryana.

On Congress leaders such as former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda supporting the Centre’s decision, Khattar said, "Vipaksh bhi behti ganga mein hath dhone ki koshish kar rahe hain (The opposition is trying to take advantage of the move considering people’s sentiments)."

On a question about the BJP having an advantage due to divisions in both the Congress and the INLD, two major opposition parties in the state, the chief minister said, "People prefer stability over chaos."

(With PTI inputs)