New Delhi, Oct 8 (IANS): BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya has questioned Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s absence and being abroad on the day of the Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election results. Malviya suggested that Gandhi’s absence reflects poorly on his leadership during a critical moment for his party.

Malviya further claimed that the Congress party has been rejected by the Dalit community in Haryana.

He said in a post in Hindi on X, “Rahul Gandhi, who dreamed of setting up a jalebi factory in Haryana taking away the livelihood of millions of halwais in India, is abroad on the day of election results. What kind of leadership is this, which does not stand with its workers in defeat?”

He expressed confidence in the BJP’s performance in the upcoming elections in Jharkhand and Maharashtra, stating that the Congress' messaging on reservations had backfired.

Malviya in another post noted, "Rahul Gandhi’s ‘we will remove reservations’, has boomeranged in Haryana. Dalits have rejected the Congress' lies. The BJP is leading in 9/17 SC seats. In 2019, BJP had won only five of the 17 seats. Dalits in Jharkhand and Maharashtra will decimate the Congress.”

Malviya’s comments come as early trends indicate that the BJP is on course to form the government for the third consecutive time in Haryana, while in Jammu and Kashmir, the Congress-National Conference alliance seems to be heading toward a majority.

However, political parties are still awaiting the final results.

According to the latest trends, BJP is ahead in 48 seats compared to the Congress’ 36 in the 90-member Assembly of Haryana, the counting for which is still underway. The Election Commission website showed the vote share of both BJP and the Congress are almost the same.

In Jammu and Kashmir however, the NC-Congress alliance is heading for a clear majority and is likely to form the government on its own.