Former deputy CM Dushyant Chautala on Wednesday announced that the JJP, previously aligned with the BJP, is now willing to back the Congress-led opposition in a move to overthrow the Nayab Singh Saini government in Haryana. Chautala also cautioned his MLA colleagues that failing to comply with the party’s directive to support the saffron party could lead to disqualification. This statement follows the withdrawal of support by three Independent MLAs from the BJP-led coalition, leaving it with 43 members in the 88-member assembly, considering the resignations of former CM Manohar Lal Khattar and Independent MLA Ranjit Singh Chautala in March.
Saini asserted that his government faces no imminent danger, despite the coalition falling two seats short of a majority. He maintained confidence that his administration would successfully complete its tenure without encountering any significant obstacles. “We weren’t a minority govt earlier and are not a minority now,” he said in Sirsa.
Haryana, gearing up for state elections in October, finds the BJP government technically secure for now, although the withdrawal of support by three Independents could impact the party’s prospects in the upcoming Lok Sabha poll. With the state voting in the fifth phase on May 25, the BJP faces the challenge of retaining all 10 seats it secured in 2019.
Dushyant, JJP’s national senior vice-president, stated at his residence in Hisar that the party intends to urge the governor to demand a floor test from the BJP government to prove its majority. While the rulebook specifies a six-month gap before a no-confidence motion can be tabled against any government, Dushyant emphasized that CM Saini should either demonstrate his majority in the assembly or step down promptly.
The three Independents, Sombir Sangwan (Dadri), Randhir Singh Gollen (Pundri), and Dharampal Gonder (Nilokheri), who withdrew support from the government, announced their backing for the Congress, which holds 30 MLAs in the House.
Dushyant warned JJP MLAs against defying the party’s whip, citing the example of rebel Congress legislators in Himachal Pradesh who faced consequences for opposing their party during the Rajya Sabha election. He mentioned that notices have been issued to three MLAs for sharing the stage with rival parties. One of them could be JJP’s Narwana MLA Ramniwas Surjakhera, who supported BJP’s Sirsa candidate Ashok Tanwar at a rally in his constituency, where CM Saini led the campaign. Surjakhera had previously attended a rally by former CM Khattar, BJP’s nominee for the Karnal seat.
Khattar played down the withdrawal of support by the three Independent MLAs, stating during roadshows in Nilokheri and Indri that such developments were commonplace in politics.