BJP targeting repeat of 2019 Lok Sabha election performance in Haryana, says CM Khattar

Ambala (Haryana): The BJP's target in Haryana is to repeat its 2019 performance by winning all 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said on Tuesday.

In recent months, both the BJP and the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) -- which govern Haryana in an alliance -- have said that they are preparing to contest all 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state while remaining non-committal about field candidates jointly in the parliamentary polls.

Khattar was speaking after the inauguration of a BJP election office for the Ambala Lok Sabha constituency. Offices for the other nine seats were also inaugurated on Tuesday.

The chief minister said the bugle for the Lok Sabha polls has been sounded with the opening of these offices.

"The target which is before us is very clear; there is no confusion. We formed a government with a majority at the Centre during the past two elections. In the upcoming general elections, some people will say (the BJP will win) 400 seats, some will give a figure close to this," Khattar said.

"In Haryana, too, one thing is certain … like we had won 10 Lok Sabha seats (in 2019), this time, too, our target is to win all 10 seats," he added.

Khattar also urged the people to be wary of the opposition parties.

He claimed that the opposition parties will adopt all kinds of tactics, spread confusion on social media, make false statements on television, in newspapers and in meetings prior to the elections.

The senior BJP leader said collectively 'we are committed to fulfilling Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of making India a developed nation' and emphasised the necessity for every citizen's participation in the endeavour.

While India gained independence in 1947, no one had envisioned making the country a 'Vishwa Guru', he claimed.

"Under the present government and Modi's leadership, continuous efforts have been made in this direction over the past decade. The period until 2047 is referred to as 'Amrit Kaal' during which India aims to be among the developed nations," Khattar said.

The 'Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra' has been organised over the past two months and it is still going on in several districts, the Haryana chief minister said.

These programmes, running until Wednesday, aim to connect people with government schemes by organising events in approximately 8,000 locations across Haryana. The focus is on making people aware of government initiatives at their doorsteps, he added.

The chief minister also acknowledged the trust that the people have in Modi's leadership.

He emphasised the need for the party cadre to go among the people with this trust and make them aware of the BJP's pro-people policies.

Haryana has provided jobs to over a lakh youngsters based on transparency and merit in the past nine years and reiterated that 60,000 more are in the pipeline over the next two to three months, Khattar added.

The programme in Ambala was attended by Haryana Assembly Speaker Gian Chand Gupta and Home and Health Minister Anil Vij, among others.