Chandigarh: The BJP has emerged as the single largest party in the Haryana assembly, winning 40 of the 90 seats. But it has fallen six short of a simple majority, and is now eyeing seven Independent MLAs as well as controversial former minister Gopal Kanda of the Haryana Lokhit Party and Indian National Lok Dal chief Abhay Chautala to comfortably cross the mark of 46.
Top leaders like Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister and BJP president Amit Shah have made it clear that the party will stake claim to form the government. Highly-placed BJP sources said once the government is in place, they expect some of the Jannayak Janata Party’s 10 MLAs to also break away and join them.
The Congress, meanwhile, has finished with 31 seats, and is expecting the JJP and Independents to support it. Former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda told ThePrint that he had asked all the anti-BJP forces to come together and form a coalition government.
“The sentiment of the state is clearly against the BJP and everyone, including the JJP, the INLD and the Independents, should join forces,” Hooda said, adding that the Congress was in talks with the JJP but no final arrangement had been arrived at.
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What JJP plans
The JJP, a breakaway faction of the INLD led by Abhay Chautala’s nephew Dushyant Chautala, seems keen on an anti-BJP alliance.
A close aide of Dushyant Chautala told ThePrint: “Since the overall mandate in the state is against the BJP, there is a possibility of JJP collaborating with the Congress. Joining forces with BJP will mean going against the mass sentiment.”
The aide added that the position will crystallise by Friday.
But in the meantime, the BJP is still expected to go hard to get the following new MLAs in its camp.
Gopal Kanda
Kanda has won from the Sirsa seat, defeating Independent candidate Gokul Setia with a margin of 600 votes.
A former INLD man, Kanda had, as an Independent, won in 2009 and supported Hooda in forming the government. This time, he is likely to throw his weight behind whichever party has the best chance of forming the government, though the buzz is that he’s backing the BJP.
Independents
The Independents who have won are largely rebels of the three major parties.
Ranjit Singh, son of former deputy prime minister of India Devi Lal, uncle of Abhay Chautala and grand-uncle of Dushyant, is a Congress rebel who has won the Rania seat, defeating Gobind Kanda of the Haryana Lokhit Party by almost 20,000 votes. Ranjit Singh had come third on the seat in 2014, when Ram Chand Kamboj of the INLD won. This time, Ram Chand got the BJP ticket, while the Congress preferred Vineet Kamboj.
Rakesh Daultabad is a rebel INLD candidate who has won from Badshahpur, defeating Manish Yadav of the BJP by over 10,000 votes. Daultabad had contested the 2014 elections as an INLD candidate, but had lost to the BJP’s Narbir Singh.
Sombir Sangwan is a BJP rebel who has won from Charkhi Dadri, defeating wrestler Babita Phogat of the BJP by over 14,000 votes. In 2014, Sombir, on a BJP ticket, had lost to Rajdeep of the INLD by just about 1,600 votes.
Balraj Kundu has won from Meham, defeating three-time Congress MLA Anand Singh Dangi by over 12,000 votes. Kundu is a rebel BJP leader who remained the chairman of the Meham zila parishad. He was denied a ticket by the BJP, which went to Shamsher Kharkhada.
Dharampal Gonder, another BJP rebel, has won the reserved seat of Nilokheri, defeating sitting BJP MLA Bhagwan Dass Kabirpanthi by over 2,000 votes.
The other two Independent winners are also BJP rebels — Nayanpal Singh Rawat from Prithla and Randhir Singh Gollen from Pundri.
Rawat defeated Raghubir Tewatia of the Congress by over 16,000 votes. In 2014, he had lost to Tek Chand Sharma of the Bahujan Samaj Party by just over 1,000 votes.
Gollen beat Congress’ Satbir Bhana by over 12,000 votes in Pundri. As the BJP candidate in 2014, he had lost to Independent Dinesh Kaushik by less than 5,000 votes.
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