Khaps lose and CM goes out: 5 takeaways from Haryana

Here are the key takeaways from the elections in Haryana:



1. Big gainer BJP: Party rode the Narendra Modi momentum of the 2014 general election while crafting a new social engineering formula of consolidating non-Jat voters. Result--from 4 seats last time to 47 now (majority on its own) and power for the first time in the state.



2. Deft use of corruption plank: The BJP found ammunition in the controversial Robert Vadra-DLF deal to reinforce its charge of misrule against the Congress. Same handle came in handy to target the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), whose chief Om Prakash Chautala is in jail in a teachers' recruitment scam.



3. Ally must deliver or fall by the wayside: The BJP dumped its ally Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC), which had drawn a blank in the Lok Sabha polls. Convinced that Kuldeep Bishnoi's fledgling HJC has a weak grip on its traditional non-Jat vote bank, Amit Shah shrewdly used the wrangling over seat-sharing to break off the alliance.



4. No takers for Khap leaders: Voters rejected Khap leaders as political representatives. Known to issue bizarre diktats, none of the Khap leaders in the fray found favour with the voters.



5. Jats stand by Hooda, Chautala: Amid the drubbing, outgoing chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and INLD supremo Chautala can take heart from the fact that the allegiance of Jats is still with them. Comprising 22% of the state's population, Jats account for more than one-fifth of the electorate.