New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has defied the exit poll predictions as it registered a hat-trick in the Haryana assembly elections. The saffron party won 48 seats, crossing the halfway mark (46) easily, whereas the Congress bagged 37 seats. BJP’s performance in the Haryana assembly polls is nothing short of spectacular as the party was facing an acute anti-incumbency, yet it managed to steal the show from the Congress. While there are several factors that have contributed to BJP success, the role played by Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, also known as Modi’ “Ujjwala Man”, cannot be overseen.
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Known as a key lieutenant to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah over the past decade, Pradhan successfully led the Odisha assembly election campaign. He along with the party's top brass formed the strategy for the Odisha polls where the BJP registered a remarkable win.
During the Odisha campaign, Pradhan teamed up with Modi and Shah to address two key issues: criticising IAS officer-turned-politician VK Pandian as an "outsider" and the emotional controversy over the "missing keys" to the sacred Ratna Bhandar (treasure trove) at the Puri Jagannath Temple.
In the recently concluded Haryana polls, Pradhan was again at the helm of affairs, managing BJP's poll strategy, overseeing daily operations, and drawing up the manifesto. The party which was staring at a severe anti-incumbency, with all political pundits writing it off, made a remarkable turnaround in what was considered the first big test of Modi 3.0
To fight anti-incumbency, Pradhan and his team denied tickets to several seasoned candidates, giving a chance to a lot of lesser-known faces.
Pradhan also sought to quell any internal fights to make sure that the party's campaign does not get sidetracked. When "disgruntled" party leader Anil Vij staked his claim for the top post, Pradhan swiftly reprimanded the senior leader and clarified that the BJP has full faith in the leadership of current chief minister Nayab Singh Saini.