On Wednesday morning, the Jannayak Janta Party issued a directive to its MLAs in the Haryana Assembly, instructing them to stay absent from House proceedings for the day, including a scheduled floor test to determine the majority status of the new Bharatiya Janata Party-led government.
This directive, considered unlawful, attempts to prevent participation in a democratic process, although parties can only mandate votes along party lines. Compliance with this directive would reduce the majority threshold in the 90-member House from 46 to 41, aligning with the BJP’s current strength.
Despite this, the BJP already commands enough support to secure passage without the lowered threshold, thanks to backing from independent lawmakers. Following the swift change in government over the past 48 hours, Nayab Singh Saini succeeded Manohar Lal Khattar as the state leader, with support from four BJP MLAs.
The dissolution of the BJP-JJP alliance, formed after the 2019 Assembly elections due to the BJP’s failure to secure a majority, led to the government’s breakdown.
Despite forming a coalition government with the JJP, which received ministerial positions and appointed Dushyant Chautala as Deputy Chief Minister, the alliance ultimately faltered