Haryana Election: Can Other Political Parties Take Advantage Of Void Created By BJP's Khatri Leaders?

The Khatri community in Haryana, which makes up around 8 per cent of the state's population, has been supporting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the past several years.

However, with no senior Khatri leader left as the face of the BJP in Haryana, the community might shift its support to other political parties in the assembly election due in October this year.

The community had been rallying behind the BJP this past decade as Manohar Lal Khattar, coming from a Punjabi Khatri family, was the chief minister of Haryana.

But besides his removal in March this year, Home Minister Anil Vij, another prominent Khatri leader, was sidelined. This has left some space open for other political parties.

The Congress is eyeing this opportunity because Khatris used to vote for it before the emergence of the BJP in the state. The party is planning to hold the Rashtriya Punjabi Mahasabha in Karnal later this month.

Khatris are known to have migrated from Punjab after the partition. In Haryana, they form a major portion of the Punjabi community, of which Sikhs and linguistic Punjabis are also a part.

The Congress is also activating its Punjabi leadership in the state. Ashok Kumar Mehta is the most prominent Khatri leader of the Congress in Haryana and will be heading the planned Mahasabha.

Former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Congress Haryana president Udai Bhan will also be present during the Mahasabha. Notably, Mehta is also the national president of the Rashtriya Punjabi Mahasabha.

Mehta wants the Congress to give tickets to Punjabi leaders in 25-26 of the 90 Haryana assembly seats in the upcoming election, where the community is known to wield influence.

He cites the example of the 1991 Chaudhary Bhajan Lal government, when 17 ministers hailed from the Punjabi community, and suggests that the community is capable of having influential leaders.

Notably, the Congress gave tickets to two Punjabi leaders in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. They were Divyanshu Budhiraja in Karnal and Raj Babbar in Gurgaon; however, both lost.

However, with the recent moves of the party, it is pretty clear that it is keen to woo Punjabi voters.

On the other hand, the BJP's former ally, the Jannayak Janta Party, has also taken initiatives to woo the Punjabi community.

Last week, the party secretary general Digvijay Chautala announced the plan to install a statue of the late singer Sidhu Moosewala in Dabwali.

Notably, Dabwali has a significant number of Punjabis who have been voting for the Congress in the last few years. The assembly constituency will witness a four-cornered fight.

With other political parties already having drawn their bows, the BJP too needs to pull up its socks to woo Khatri voters.

Despite getting elected to Lok Sabha from Karnal, former chief minister Khattar is still active in Haryana politics and has been regularly taking part in BJP meetings for the assembly election.

However, after expressing discontent over the appointment of Nayab Saini as chief minister, Vij has confined himself to his Ambala Cantonment constituency and is not active in state politics.

Notably, Vij has a good rapport with Khattar, and, hence, the former chief minister is capable of bringing Vij along with the party for statewide campaigning.

If the two leaders join forces and prepare a second line of Khatri leaders, in the meantime, the BJP can stop its Khatri vote bank from slipping away from its hands.