Haryana assembly elections 2014 : BJP interested in forming an alliance with the INLD
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- Last Updated: Thursday, 22 January 2015 21:00
Haryana assembly elections 2014 : BJP interested in forming an alliance with the INLD
The three-year-old alliance between the BJP and the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) is tottering just before the assembly elections in the state, with seat-sharing talks having almost broken down between the two parties and the BJP actively looking at the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) as a possible new partner.
Sources close to HJC leader Kuldeep Bishnoi told ET that the BJP had been playing hard ball on the issue of seat distribution, promising only 15 out of the 90 assembly seats in the state for HJC. "That figure is very low, and is an insult. We have had an alliance for three years, in the last three by-elections HJC won two seats and BJP lost the third seat,"said a source close to Bishnoi. Also Read..Haryana assembly poll 2014: CSDS survey Result
Politics in Haryana is divided between Jats and non-Jats, with the former having dominated since 1996. Bishnoi's father Bhajan Lal was the last non-Jat chief minister. Non-Jats make up 17.5% of the electorate while Jats comprise 21.5%. "The logic for our alliance with BJP was simple—we would bring in the non-Jat votes while the Jat votes would get divided between the INLD and the Congress, which are both Jat dominated," said the source.
Now, the BJP, which saw Bishnoi lose his own seat of Hissar in the Lok Sabha polls recently is having second thoughts. High on the Narendra Modi wave, the party feels that the combination of its 34.7% vote polled in the Lok Sabha election this year in the state with the INLD's 25% vote, is more of a winning combination. Also Read- Haryana Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) reviews arrangements for Assembly polls
"However, this would just mean the pitching of Jat against Jat as the Congress has already declared Bhupinder Singh Hooda as its CM candidate," said a source close to Bishnoi.
"Everyone knows Kuldeep was defeated by a conspiracy, and there is huge sympathy for him. If the BJP breaks the alliance, the non-Jat votes will slipout of its hands," said the source. "We kept to coalition dharma even when Karnal, which was promised to us, was not delivered to us. Now we expect the BJP to be equally generous," added the source.
BJP leaders didn't appear to be worried, and are in fact watching Dushyant Chautala, newly elected MP from Hissar, and grandson of former CM Om Prakash Chautala, very hopefully. The party won two seats in the lok Sabha elections despite the legal troubles of both Om Prakash and son Abhay Chautala in a teacher recruitment case.
source:economictimes