Cracks and fissures have developed in the alliance between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC), after the latter’s poor performance in the recent lok Sabha elections and it is only a matter of time before both these parties part their ways.
HJC lost both the seats of Hisar and Sirsa. Kuldeep Bishnoi, the party chief himself failed to retain his seat from Hisar, losing it to Dushyant Chautala of Indian National lok Dal (INlD), who was a first time contender from the constituency.
The poll pact between BJP and HJC now seems to be come more fragile especially at a time when assembly elections are round the corner in Haryana. The elections are going to be held in the month of October. Senior BJP state leaders are not in a mood to take chance with HJC as an alliance partner anymore.
State BJP leadership has decided to call its core committee meeting, to discuss on the future of alliance between BJP and HJC in the state. The meeting would take place immediately, after BJP’s Parliamentary Board meeting on May 20, at Delhi.
“Till May 20, we are all busy with the formation of the new Government at the Centre, the state leadership will certainly call its core committee meeting after that to discuss over the future of the alliance between the two parties, besides analysing the results of the recently held elections”, BJP spokesperson from Haryana, Vir Kumar Yadav said.
Though the date and place of the meeting are yet to be fixed, but it is expected to commence between May 22 and 23 in Haryana. He also said that before reaching on any final decision, a special meeting would also be convened with Haryana Janhit Congress leadership.
However, BJP legislature, Anil Vij, said on Monday that “A person (Bishnoi) who failed to save his own seat in the lok Sabha elections, cannot be projected for the post of Chief Minister of Haryana. The next Chief Minister of Haryana would be from BJP.”
Earlier, BJP’s Kisan Morcha’ President OP Dhankar and BJP’s national spokesperson Capt Abhimanyu had also raised questions over the BJP-HJC alliance in the state.
BJP spokesman Yadav said “lok Sabha elections are always considered as semi-final of the assembly elections and it is a fact that the performance of an ally will certainly have its affect over the assembly elections.”
The poll pact between BJP and HJC had come into existence in 2011 with some senior BJP leaders including Sushma Swaraj, who had not only appreciated it but also projected Bishnoi as the Chief Minister of Haryana.
BJP stuck on to this understanding with HJC even during the lok Sabha elections of 2014, but now the results of the elections in which BJP got seven seats and its only ally failed to secure even a single seat out of ten lok Sabha seats in Haryana has compelled the party to review its alliance with HJC, senior BJP leaders said.
Majority in the state BJP leadership are afraid after the worst performance of its ally in the elections and seems reluctant to test HJC further in the upcoming Haryana assembly elections.