Mumbai, Oct 8 (PTI) The BJP's victory hat-trick in Haryana shows the people have defeated the Opposition's narratives on various issues and exposed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's politics of drama, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Tuesday.
He also said the BJP and the Union government have strongly responded to Pakistan's propaganda in the Jammu and Kashmir elections.
The BJP is set to return to power in Haryana for the third consecutive term with an absolute majority in the 90-member assembly. The polling was held on October 5, and results were declared on Tuesday.
The BJP has emerged as the second largest party by winning 29 constituencies in the maiden assembly polls post the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, improving its all-time high tally of 25 seats recorded in 2014 elections.
Fadnavis expressed confidence in the BJP repeating its Haryana performance in the Maharashtra elections, likely to be held next month.
He cryptically said "those living in a fool's paradise will now come on the ground", adding the context of the BJP's debacle in Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra.
"In a first in the last 60 years, a party will come to power in Haryana for a third consecutive term. The opposition tried to push its narrative through the Agnipath scheme, and Olympic players, and even dabbled with caste politics. However, people of Haryana chose Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for development," Fadnavis told reporters.
(Lok Sabha opposition leader) Rahul Gandhi did a lot of drama ahead of the elections, but now nobody will fall prey to it anymore. "Haryana has given him a strong message," he added.
"The BJP and the Union government have strongly responded to Pakistan's propaganda in the Jammu and Kashmir elections," he added.
The opposition's propaganda on potential bloodbath on streets after the abrogation of Article 370 (which accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir) has fallen flat in Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP leader said.
"We have shown to the world that the people of Jammu and Kashmir have participated in democratic processes. It is a strong message that the Indian government and the Election Commission of India can conduct fair elections there. Even the observers sent by several foreign countries have witnessed the fairness of the elections," he said.
Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule said the Haryana poll outcome is a strong message to the "fake narrative" of the Congress which affected his party in the Lok Sabha elections held earlier this year.
The Mahayuti government in Maharashtra (comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar's NCP) will replicate the same in the state elections, Bawankule said.
He maintained that the BJP has lost the Lok Sabha election but it lost some seats to the fake narrative of the opposition parties. "The Haryana election results came as a test for us and we have now cleared it. What happened in Haryana will be replicated in Maharashtra," he said.