A day after three Independent MLAs withdrew support from the Nayab Singh Saini-led BJP government in Haryana and extended support to the Congress, Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) leader Dushyant Chautala said on Wednesday that the party will vote against ex-ally BJP in case of a no-confidence motion is moved.
“All our MLAs will vote against the BJP government, if a no-confidence motion is moved by the Leader of Opposition, Bhupinder Singh Hooda,” former Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Chautala said at a press conference.
“The BJP is talking of winning all 10 Lok Sabha seats and one seat of Karnal bypoll. But three MLAs withdrawing support shows how weak the BJP has become. I would also like to tell Leader of Opposition that according to the mathematics of numbers today, if a step is taken to topple this government during elections, I would thoroughly consider supporting him [Hooda] from outside. It is now for Congress to think if it will take a step to topple the BJP government,” Chautala said, days before Haryana is set to vote in the Lok Sabha elections on May 25.
Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), an offshoot of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), has 10 members in the 90-seat Haryana assembly. In October 2019, the party joined hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to form a coalition government but parted ways in March this year. Chautala was deputy chief minister to BJP’s Manohar Lal Khattar in the alliance government.
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“Three MLAs have withdrawn support and two MLAs, including Manohar Lal Khattar (Lok Sabha candidate from Karnal) and Ranjit Singh (candidate from Hisar), have resigned from the Vidhan Sabha. This makes it five MLAs out of the Vidhan Sabha. It proves that the BJP government has failed to have a simple majority. I demand that the chief minister resign on moral grounds. The three Independents have sent their withdrawal of support to the governor. We shall also urge the governor and even send it in writing to him seeking directions to the state government to prove majority,” Chautala added.
How do the numbers stack up?
The current strength of the Haryana assembly is 88 as two MLAs resigned earlier to contest the Lok Sabha polls, both on BJP tickets. While former BJP CM Manohar Lal Khattar is the candidate from the Karnal Lok Sabha seat, Ranjit Singh Chautala, earlier an Independent MLA, is contesting on the BJP ticket from Hisar.
With MLAs Dharampal Gondher (Nilokheri), Randhir Golan (Pundri) and Sombir Sangwan (Dadri) withdrawing support, the BJP, with 40 MLAs, is tentatively placed in the 88-member Assembly – the majority mark is 45.
In the 2019 Assembly polls, the JJP had won 10 seats and the BJP, 40 seats. Both parties entered into a post-poll alliance and formed a coalition government in Haryana. Two months ago, the BJP broke off ties with the JJP.
Currently, the BJP has 40 MLAs. The BJP government also has the support of two other Independents, which takes its total strength to 42. The BJP is 3 short of the majority mark.
Although, it claimed on Tuesday that four Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) MLAs too may offer “tactical assistance to the government if needed”, taking its strength to 47.
Meanwhile, Congress won 30 seats in the 2019 Assembly polls and with the support of the three Independent MLAs, the strength now stands at 33.
If it manages to get support from JJP, the number will go up to 43. In that event, it will need the support of two other MLAs – who are Gopal Kanda from the Haryana Lokhit Party and an MLA from INLD.
What’s next?
The Congress on Wednesday demanded the President’s Rule and fresh elections in Haryana as three Independent MLAs withdrew support from the BJP government and extended it to their party. The Nayab Singh Saini-led BJP government currently has 40 MLAs in the Assembly, shy of the majority mark of 45 in the now 88-member House.
“We are going to write to the Governor that three Independent MLAs have withdrawn support and they have extended support to our party… the government is in the minority and they have no right to stay in power.We will demand that the government be dismissed, President’s Rule be imposed and fresh elections be held,” Haryana Congress chief Udai Bhan said, Indian Express reported.