Infighting To Jat Focus: 5 Factors Behind Congress's Haryana Shock

Congress leaders are still hoping against hope for a turnaround in its poll fortunes. Several rounds of counting are still left, but the picture is unlikely to change a lot.

Around 9 am, one hour into the counting of votes for the Haryana polls, the Congress had surged far ahead of the BJP. Jalebis and dhols marked celebrations at the Congress headquarters in Delhi, sharply contrasting with the deserted BJP office.

But an hour later, the tables turned and the BJP was back in the game. Two more hours later, the BJP was firmly ahead and appeared headed for its biggest win in Haryana, defying exit poll predictions by a wide margin. Now the BJP headquarters was abuzz, with laddoos, jalebis and the works. Congress leaders hoped against hope for a turnaround in what had initially been a see-saw battle. Several rounds of counting are still left, but the picture is unlikely to change a lot.

Here are the five factors that contributed to the Congress setback