Vol. 1, Issue 13, Part H (2015)

Abstract
In a historic shift in power in Haryana, the Bharatiya Janata Party, for the first time has emerged as the largest single party with absolute majority, paving the way for the formation of a stable and “Centre-supported” government. The BJP, which only had four MLAs in 2009 assembly election in Haryana, easily crossed the halfway mark of 45 in the 90-member Assembly by winning 47 seats. The incumbent Congress government led by Bhupinder Singh Hooda failed miserably despite ruling the state for 10 years. It could manage a distant third with only 15 seats. The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), the main opposition political party in Haryana, managed to back only 19 seats, a significant drop from the 31 seats it had won back in 2009, establishing itself as a weak runner up for the second consecutive time. The HJC (Haryana Jan hit Congress-BL) and BSP have been reduced to fringe players in the state politics. The results indicate that the era of piggy back riding its way to power are over for the BJP. The BJP will no longer play second fiddle to the regional parties in the future.