Dushyant Chautala likely to be made Deputy CM in BJP-led govt in Haryana
NEW DELHI : BJP President Amit Shah on Friday announced that his party and Dushyant Chautala’s Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) will form the government in Haryana after the state threw up a hung Assembly following the elections. Shah said the chief minister will be a BJP minister while ceding to the JJP’s demand for the post of deputy chief minister.
According to sources, the BJP also accepted the other demands laid down by the JJP. Chautala earlier in the day had said his party will form the government with whichever outfit extends support to the terms laid down in their common minimum programme. The BJP has agreed to 75% reservation in jobs for youth in Haryana, free treatment for cancer and chronic patients, old-age pension, a scheme for women empowerment and one for the 25 lakh Jat voters in Delhi ahead of elections.
The BJP also ceded the post of the deputy chief minister, added the sources.”Tainted” candidate Gopal Kanda, who won the Assembly election from Sirsa seat, will not be made a minister in the Manohar Lal Khattar government in Haryana that will be soon sworn in.
The BJP has been embroiled in a controversy since it came to light on Thursday night that Kanda, an accused charged with rape and abetment of suicide of air hostess Geetika Sharma, will play an influential role in deciding the course of the government formation in Haryana after the Assembly polls there threw up a hung Assembly.
Dushyant Chautala, who has emerged as a “kingmaker” in Haryana, said his Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) will support outfit in the state supports its demands set out in its common minimum programme released in the run-up to the elections. The party had promised to reserve 75% of the jobs in the state for the local youth, which constitute a sizeable chunk of nearly 1.83 crore voters of the state. Chautala said the JJP will extend support to the outfit that supports its demands of youth employment and senior pension.
A row has erupted over Haryana Lokhit Party’s Gopal Kanda extending support to the BJP in Haryana, where it is six short of majority. Congratulating the BJP on its performance, senior leader Uma Bharti urged the party to shun the support of Kanda whose political downfall was triggered by a suicide note left by an air hostess with MDLR Airlines. He was accused of rape and abetment to suicide. The rape charge was eventually dropped but within one year, the woman’s mother also committed suicide.
Taking to Twitter, Uma Bharti said the party should not forget its moral foundation. “If Kanda is the same person who was the cause of a girl’s suicide, the suicide of her mother and faces trial… whether he is innocent or guilty, the law will decide. But his winning an election does not absolve him. There are many factors in an election victory,” Uma Bharti tweeted.
“I request the BJP that it doesn’t forget its moral foundations. We have a force like Narendra Modi… not just the country, but the whole world is with Modiji.” Uma Bharti said while she was in favour of BJP forming government in Haryana, “one should ensure that those who are with us are as clean and spotless as BJP workers”.
Kanda, who won the Sirsa seat and emerged as one of the leaders crucial for government formation in Haryana, today pledged his support to the BJP. Addressing the media, Kanda, who was flown to Delhi by a BJP MP, said: “Under PM Narendra Modi’s leadership, Haryana will see development. All Independent MLAs have decided to give their unconditional support to the BJP.” He also dismissed the corruption case against him and said he had not made any demands for any post.
Meanwhile, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today arrived in Delhi for a meeting with the BJP top brass as the party, which fell six short of majority in the state, seeks to retain power. The BJP will have to depend on the support of Independents or
Dushyant Chautala’s Jannayak Janta Party, which won 10 seats. The saffron party claims to have the support of Independents though Chautala has kept his cards close to his chest.
The BJP’s final tally in the Haryana election came as a disappointment for a party that had won all 10 parliamentary seats in the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year and predicted that it will cross 75 seats this time in the legislative assembly. Surprisingly, eight of the 10 ministers fielded by the BJP lost.
Wooed by both the BJP and the Congress after the success of the fledgling Jannayak Janta Party, Dushyant Chautala will hold meetings with his 10 MLAs today to decide the future course of action. In a clear snub to exit polls, Haryana on Thursday threw up a hung assembly, with the ruling BJP emerging as the single largest party with 40 seats, six short of the halfway mark needed to form the next government.
The Congress put up a resurgent performance, winning 31 seats in the 90-member Haryana Legislative Assembly. Debutant Jannayak Janta Party emerged as the potential kingmaker with 10 seats. The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and the Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP) won a seat each, with Independent candidates winning seven. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which contested 46 seats, was decimated and ended up with zero seats.
Dismissing speculations, Chautala had said yesterday that the party would decide who they would support, while putting forth the condition that he would ally with the party that offered him the chief minister’s post.
“We agreed to contest fewer seats (than the BJP), but I cannot accommodate the BJP every time. I should allow my party to grow,” Thackeray said. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said despite the BJP ending up winning fewer seats in 2019 compared to the 2014 Assembly polls, its “strike rate” is better this time.
