JJP supports Indian National Congress in Haryana Assembly elections, denies alliance with BJP

Former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ally and co-founder of the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) Dushyant Chautala on Thursday urged the Congress Party to take the lead and field a common candidate for the Haryana Assembly elections, which the JJP is supporting.

Former Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Chautala also ruled out forming a coalition with Haryana’s ruling BJP before or after the next state assembly elections due later this year.

The Senate seat became vacant after Indian National Congress Senator Deepinder Singh Hooda won the Rohtak Lok Sabha seat in the recently held elections.

“Fixed match”

Chautala alleged that both the parties — the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party — were misleading the people. “In the upcoming Senate elections in Haryana, the Bharatiya Janata Party is running away from the fight. Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda’s statement that the Bharatiya Janata Party has no vote margin indicates a ‘fixed match’ with the Bharatiya Janata Party. If the Bharatiya Janata Party really wants to compete with the Bharatiya Janata Party, it should field a Senate candidate in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party. We are ready to support them. The opposition parties should come together and get a socialite, athlete, artiste etc to lead Haryana in the Senate,” he said at a press conference here.

Pointing out that the JJP had lost elections because it had joined forces with the BJP, Chautala said, “There is no reason for the JJP to join forces with the BJP in future. People were angry with the BJP on issues like the farmers’ movement and the JJP had to bear the brunt of that.”

Chautala said the party will take feedback from workers in all 22 districts of the state and start preparations for the upcoming state assembly elections.

Slamming the BJP government, Chautala said the law and order situation in the state was deteriorating fast due to government blunders. He said Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, who is also in charge of the Home Ministry, had failed to maintain law and order and asked the Prime Minister to hand over the responsibility of the Home Ministry to another minister.