Haryana, Maharashtra election results show local issues, economy matter

In Haryana, a predominantly rural state, crop prices have been constantly falling for the past two years

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) less than satisfactory performance in the Assembly elections of Haryana and Maharashtra has once again raised questions on its inept handling of the economy, triggering calls for more focus on it, particularly the rural sector.

The sector seems to have played a decisive role in several seats in both the states. Its showing has indicated the continuing slowdown in demand, wages, and consumption in rural areas has started affecting politics.

In Haryana, the ruling BJP was marginally short of a majority, just months after it won all the 10 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha