Haryana is witnessing significant political upheaval ahead of the assembly elections. The Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), which played the kingmaker role and was in power for about 4.5 years as a coalition partner with the BJP, has seen 4 of its MLAs resign. Three others have distanced themselves from the party, making it so that out of JJP's total 10 MLAs, only three are practically left with the party.
These Four MLAs Resign from the Party
In the last 24 hours, former Labor Minister and Uklana MLA Anoop Dhanak, Shahabad MLA Ramkaran Kala, Guhala Cheeka MLA Ishwar Singh, and Tohana MLA and former Cabinet Minister Devender Babli have left the party.
These Three MLAs Distanced Themselves from the Party
Besides the four who resigned, Narwana MLA Ram Niwas Surjakhera, Barwala MLA Jogi Ram Sihag, and Narnaund MLA Ram Kumar Gautam have distanced themselves from the party for various reasons.
JJP Now Has Only Three MLAs
The crisis-stricken JJP is left with only three MLAs, including former Deputy Chief Minister and Uchana MLA Dushyant Chautala, his mother and Badhra MLA Naina Chautala, and Julana MLA Amarjeet Dhanda. Interestingly, two of these are from the Chautala family.
Source: aajtak
Source: aajtak
Source: aajtak
Source: aajtak
JJP Fails to Keep Its MLAs United
The Jannayak Janata Party emerged as a kingmaker by winning 10 assembly seats in 2019. However, the party leadership has failed to keep its MLAs united. Now, there are speculations that six MLAs may join mainstream parties like Congress and BJP. Among these, there are talks of MLAs Ramkaran Kala, Ishwar Singh, and Devender Babli joining Congress, while Anoop Dhanak might join BJP.
A Gambit Gone Wrong
The JJP leadership had previously tried to prevent the exodus of its MLAs but failed. An attempt to file FIRs against discontented MLAs Jogi Ram Sihag and Ramniwas Surjakhera for anti-party activities backfired, with these two legislators openly supporting the ruling BJP and even campaigning for its candidates in the Lok Sabha elections.
Two Discontented MLAs Cite Personal Reasons
Party's discontented legislators Ishwar Singh and Ramkaran Kala have recently resigned and cited personal reasons in their letters to party president Dr. Ajay Singh Chautala. Once close allies Devender Babli was not happy with the functioning of the Chautala leadership. He openly expressed his support for Congress MP Kumari Selja in the Lok Sabha elections. Now, there are rumors of Devender Babli joining Congress, though he has left the decision up to his supporters.
What Did Devender Babli Say About His Resignation?
Devender Babli said that the situation was different when he left Congress five years ago. He joined JJP based on his supporters' suggestions. But now, five years later, the situation has completely changed, so he is resigning.
Reasons Behind MLAs Leaving the Party
The primary reason for party MLAs leaving JJP is the party's weakening. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the party's vote share was 14.9%, which has plummeted to just 0.87% in 2024. Sources say that the Chautala family's (JJP, INLD) primary vote bank, the Jat community, switched to Congress in the Lok Sabha elections. The JJP's decision to support the BJP was seen as anti-farmer and detrimental in the context of the Jat agitation.
Digvijay Chautala Calls Departing MLAs 'Opportunists'
In response to this situation, JJP General Secretary Digvijay Chautala labeled the four departing MLAs as 'opportunists'. Dushyant Chautala also remarked that many have betrayed the JJP, and those leaving the party hold no significance for them. He stated that JJP is ready to contest the assembly elections and form the government.
How JJP Became Kingmaker The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) formed the government in Haryana. In the assembly elections held five years ago in 2019, BJP won 40 seats with a vote share of 36.7%. This made BJP the largest party, while Congress secured 31 seats with a 28.2% vote share. Dushyant Chautala's Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) was third, winning 10 seats with a 14.9% vote share. The Haryana Lokhit Party won less than one percent vote share and only one seat. Additionally, seven independents were elected. Since no party reached the magic number of 46 seats to form the government, JJP emerged as the kingmaker. BJP formed the government with the support of JJP, Haryana Lokhit Party, and independents. However, the BJP broke their alliance with JJP before the Lok Sabha elections, replacing Manohar Lal Khattar with Nayab Singh Saini as the CM.
