A day before the final day of filing of nomination papers for the Assembly election in Haryana, the rebels and disgruntled leaders have become a cause of concern for all political parties, including the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its main challenger Congress. The rebels are either switching parties after being denied tickets by their previous affiliations or announcing to contest the election as independent candidates.
While senior leaders of these parties dismiss the possibility of the rebels denting the prospects of official candidates, they are leaving no stone unturned to pacify them.
The ruling BJP received a jolt on Wednesday as Kehar Singh Rawat, a senior leader and a former MLA from Hathin segment within the Faridabad Lok Sabha Constituency quit the party in protest against the denial of ticket to him and filed nomination as an Independent candidate. On Tuesday night, the BJP had announced the name of Manoj Rawat as its candidate. Former Haryana Education Minister and senior BJP leader Ram Bilas Sharma has filed his nomination from Mahendragarh Assembly constituency. Sharma’s candidature is yet to be declared by BJP till Wednesday evening.
Congress has also experienced its share of defections, as aspirants who were overlooked during the ticket allocation process seek greener pastures elsewhere. For these individuals, switching parties represents a strategic move to enhance their electoral prospects and advance their political ambitions.
Karan Singh Dalal of the Congress filed his nominations from Palwal Assembly segment. Incidentally, Dalal's candidature is yet to be declared by the Congress and he has become the first candidate from the party to file papers despite his name not being released officially.
Congress faced rebellion as party leader Rajesh Joon, whose candidature was ignored from Bahadurgarh, quit the party and announced to fight as an independent candidate. The party has fielded sitting MLA Rajendra Singh Joon from the Bahadurgarh seat. Brijpal Chhappar, who recently left Congress after being denied a ticket, filed his nomination for Sadhaura Assembly seat as a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate.
For the last few days, Haryana has witnessed a flurry of defections, with leaders crossing party lines in search of better electoral prospects. Many of these defections are rooted in dissatisfaction with the internal dynamics of their former parties, particularly regarding ticket distribution. The release of lists by the parties is causing discontent among its leaders.
Former Haryana Minister Ranjit Singh Chautala who had revolted against BJP, has now decided to contest the Assembly election as an independent candidate from Rania Constituency. Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) and Azad Samaj Party (ASP) alliance have decided not only to field its candidate against Ranjit Chautala in Rania Constituency but also to support him in the election.
Santosh Yadav, BJP vice president of the Haryana State Unit has quit the party and accused it of prioritising leaders who have never worked for the organisation over those loyal to it. Sources said that Yadav was seeking a ticket from the Ateli Assembly seat, which has been allotted to Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh's daughter Aarti Singh Rao.
BJP State Unit Executive member Shiv Kumar Mehta has resigned and sent his resignation from the party to Haryana BJP Chief Mohan Lal Badoli. He was a ticket aspirant from the Narnaul seat, from where the party has fielded Om Prakash Yadav. Talking to reporters, Mehta said, “I have been working for the party for 45 years. They kept ignoring me and telling me each time to prepare for the next time. The same happened this time. Now I have quit the party and will focus on social service.”
State BJP Spokesperson Satyavrat Shastri also resigned from the party’s primary membership, alleging that the party has moved away from its values and was influenced by people with “opposite ideology”.
Earlier, Haryana Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Social Justice Bishamber Singh Valmiki - and MLA Lakshman Napa, who were denied tickets resigned. OBC leader Karan Dev Kamboj also resigned from all posts in the BJP for the same reason. Haryana BJP vice president GL Sharma joined the Congress recently with more than 250 office bearers and several workers.
However, while senior party leaders dismiss the possibility of the rebels denting the prospects of official candidates, they are leaving no stone unturned to pacify them. In BJP, in addition to regular reconciliation meetings, senior party leaders including former Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and State Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini are intervening to tone down protests and angry statements by leaders. Karnal, which has become a hotspot due to the increasing number of rebellions, was in the limelight after the arrival of Khattar at the residence of former Mayor Renu Bala Gupta. Fearing defeat due to growing dissent in the Karnal Assembly seat, Khattar recently met Gutpa and asked her to work for the party candidate Jagmohan Anand. CM Nayab Singh Saini had also attempted to placate Gupta after she expressed displeasure over the party’s decision to field Jagmohan Anand as the candidate from the Karnal Assembly seat.
Talking to reporters, Saini said, “In a democracy, several workers aspire to fight elections and they can even win, but ultimately, the parliamentary board has to decide while keeping in view all factors in play. We have reached out to most of them and will speak to the rest of them. I believe the decision by the party will be accepted by them,” he added. He made it clear that there will be no changes in candidates.
Khattar also reached the residence of former councillor Mukesh Arora, who is also among the ticket aspirants from Karnal Assembly seat and was missing from the campaign of Jagmohan Anand.
On the condition of anonymity, a Senior BJP leader said that the party professed a “love and compassion” approach for rebels asking senior party leaders to hold one-on-one discussions with discontented leaders. He further said that the rebels however want nothing but tickets and the party is in no mood to bow. A large number of party leaders and workers want a ticket for the Assembly election, but the party can’t hand it out to everyone. Party and organisation is above individual leaders and those who believe that they define a party’s victory in any area will soon have an answer. There are many criteria for tickets and “winnability” tops it. Rebels will soon realise their mistake and be back home. This will not impact the party’s prospects in the state, the BJP leader added.
Amid a flurry of resignations in the Haryana BJP over the distribution of tickets for the Assembly election, and the Congress too expected to ‘upset’ a few ticket-seekers in the third list on remaining seats, coalitions led by the Chautalas in the State have kept the doors open for a few “prized catch” anticipating political chaos. While Dushyant Chautala’s Jannayak Janata Party is in alliance with the Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram), the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), led by former Leader of the Opposition Abhay Chautala, has tied up with Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party.
Political Observers say that during elections, it is common to see leaders switch their loyalties and the current situation is no different. The reason behind it is the growing ‘infestation’ on the hunger of political parties to win elections by any means possible. As Haryana is all set to elect a new government, political parties are busy luring leaders in rival camps to build an election wave in their favour. “We all are passing through a phase in Indian politics where there are no ideological boundaries left in political parties. Winning the election remains the only concern. In such a situation, those with more resources and power certainly command more sway over others. In this context, the onus falls on voters to scrutinize the track record and integrity of candidates, irrespective of their party affiliations. By prioritizing competence, accountability, and a genuine commitment to public service, voters can play a pivotal role in shaping the future trajectory of Haryana’s political landscape,” an analysts added.
