Slug: Haryana Assembly election


The upcoming Haryana Assembly elections scheduled to be held on October 5, seem to be a battle for survival for the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), which is facing the ire of its core voters for its “anti-farmer” stance during the year-long stir against the Centre’s now-withdrawn farm laws. The JJP, which has a support base in the rural areas of Hisar, Jind, Charkhi Dadri, Fatehabad and some other parts of the State, has been facing protests from their core voters Jats for backing the BJP during the farmers’ and Women wrestlers’ stir.

The JJP — led by Ajay Singh Chautala — came into existence in December 2018 after a vertical split in the INLD following a feud in the Chautala family. In the 2019 Assembly elections, JJP won 10 seats and became the junior partner of the Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP Government after the latter fell short of a majority. The post-poll alliance led to Dushyant Chautala’s elevation as Deputy Chief Minister. The JJP capitalised on its position and secured about a dozen-odd portfolios, including top-of-the-line departments, such as excise and taxation, revenue and public works.

However, the party’s fortunes began to falter after the BJP abruptly ended the alliance on March 12, 2024, in a strategic move to counter rising anti-incumbency ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. This development marked the beginning of an existential crisis for the JJP, which had earlier positioned itself as a promising regional player during its time in power from October 27, 2019 to March 12, 2024.

After BJP snapped ties with JJP, many party leaders including seven MLAs and state party Chief Nishan Singh quit the party. From having 10 MLAs in 2019, JJP is now down to just three: Dushyant Chautala, his mother Naina Chautala and Julana MLA Amarjeet Dhanda. The resignations indicate significant discontent with JJP leader Dushyant Chautala's leadership. Moreover, the resignation of party MLAs ahead of fresh State polls was not surprising as they knew the party had lost its ground-level support and were now looking for opportunities in other parties to secure their political career, leaving the party in tatters.

The latest turmoil was witnessed with the resignation of Anoop Dhanak, an MLA from Uklana in Hisar district, which surprised many as he was among Chautala’s most trusted aides.

Discontent among the JJP legislators began shortly after the coalition government was formed with the Narnaund MLA Ram Kumar Gautam being the first to criticise Dushyant. Gautam, Jogi Ram Sihag and Anoop Dhanak, defected to the BJP recently. The Tohana MLA Devender Singh Babli, who later became a minister, publicly raised concerns about corruption in the state government. He also joined BJP on Monday.

On condition of anonymity, A JJP MLA, who resigned recently from the party, said, “Dushyant had enjoyed power for over four years while completely ignoring his party MLAs. All of Haryana knows how he behaved with leaders and workers when he was deputy CM. He worked for a select few people and failed to do anything on the promises made to voters during elections. He had to face the music for not supporting farmers and wrestlers during their agitation.”

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, JJP could manage just 0.87 per cent of the total vote share and all 10 candidates lost their security deposit. This drastic fall has left the party struggling to maintain relevance in a political landscape dominated by the well-organised BJP and Congress.  However, Dushyant had consistently defended the alliance as a strategic move to fulfill the aspirations of the party’s vote bank. The stance was recently echoed by JJP national president Ajay Chautala in Rohtak, who highlighted the party’s role in ensuring that Haryana now has the highest old-age pension (Rs 3,000) in the country. He further claimed that had the JJP held a full majority, the pension would have been Rs 5,100 from Day 1, alleging collusion between the BJP and former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in undermining the JJP.

Talking to reporters, Dushyant Chautala recently said, “Our party paid the price of anti-incumbency against its former coalition partner BJP in the parliamentary elections. In fact, anti-incumbency was against BJP but we also paid the price,”

Political Observers opine that the emergence of the BJP as a dominant force has disrupted the prospects of regional parties in Haryana and they are scrambling for relevance. They stitched alliances wherever they did not have a base and gradually pushed coalition partners to political margins. JJP is in crisis and does not have a bright future. As the assembly elections approach, the JJP’s ability to evolve and respond to the challenges will be crucial in determining its long-term viability.

“The JJP’s base, predominantly Jat voters who are traditionally wary of the BJP, felt betrayed by the party’s decision to ally with the saffron party, especially during the cultivators’ agitation. The perception that the JJP sided with the BJP against farmers’ interest further eroded its support,” he added.

Another Observer said that senior JJP leadership has failed to sense the mood of the people during farm agitation. The sympathy vote from once-loyal INLD supporters and its anti-BJP stand were the major reasons behind the JJP getting a decent 15 per cent vote share and winning as many as ten seats during the 2019 assembly elections. The first major mistake the JJP made was to enter into a post-poll alliance with the BJP and form an alliance government when its mandate was anti-BJP. JJP had a chance to resurrect itself during the peak of the farmers’ protests in 2020 when several party supporters were asking it to exit from the alliance government, but it did not do so, earning the ire of its core peasant support base.

Moreover, with the Congress’s resurgence after its better-than-expected Lok Sabha performance and the subsequent fall in the JJP’s political graph, the chances of a division of the anti-incumbency vote against the BJP stand reduced. This was seen during the Lok Sabha polls as well when there was a massive consolidation of Jats and farmers behind the party, which made them win as many as five parliamentary seats. If the JJP fails to rebound, it may help the Congress consolidate anti-incumbency votes against the ruling BJP and give a formidable challenge to the saffron party’s poll prospects, Observers added.