Vijayvargiya blames bad poll management for Haryana results

BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya on Thursday blamed shortcomings in the "election management" to his party's middling performance in the Haryana assembly elections.

It would nonetheless be able to form government again in the northern state, he stated.

Haryana elections were heading towards a photo-finish with the ruling BJP and opposition Congress locked in a neck- and-neck battle as the counting of votes was underway on Thursday.

"I can clearly see the shortcomings in our management of Haryana elections. BJP rebels fought elections and we failed to persuade them (to pull out)," Vijayvargiya told reporters here.

"Chief Minister Manoharlal Khattar has worked for the developed of Haryana with honesty and transparency, but elections are won with a bit of management," he added.

"We failed to reach out to voters with our message and draw them to polling booths. We are going to do introspection after the election results are out," he added.

Asked about the perceived unhappiness of the Jat community with the Haryana chief minister, the BJP leader said, "Khattar, as chief minister, put an end to dynasty casteism and nepotism in politics.

"But I feel we failed to reach out to the people," he said.

"We could not get the success we expected. However, I feel that when final results come, we are going to form the government on our own," he added.

"And if we don't get majority, we will think of the future course of action. We will not indulge in horse- trading," he added.

The rebels who win the election would be persuaded to support the party for government formation, Vijayvargiya added.