Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar resigned on Tuesday, days before Lok Sabha elections. Sources told News18 that Bharatiya Janata Party’s Nayab Saini or Sanjay Bhatia are the front-runners for CM post.
Amid the rift between the two allies, BJP was scheduled to hold a legislative party meet at 11:30 in Chandigarh, while deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala held a meeting of Jannayak Janata Party in Delhi.
Sources said that a few MLAs of JJP skipped Chautala’s meeting and were “in touch with the Bharatiya Janata Party”. A source said that at least four JJP MLAs are in contact with BJP.
Sources had earlier told News18 that BJP and JJP were heading towards a rift after Chautala met BJP national president JP Nadda over seat-sharing in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
He was reportedly also sought time from Amit Shah, however, Khattar’s cabinet resigned before that speculated meeting. Sources added that Chautala wanted seats for Lok Sabha polls, which the BJP was not ready to give.
The ties between the BJP and Chautala-led JJP worsened following their failure to reach a seat-sharing agreement in the state for the Lok Sabha polls. The BJP had won all 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state in 2019 polls.
How Numbers Stack Up for BJP in Haryana Now
Besides the Lok Sabha elections, which may be held in a month or two, the term of the Haryana legislative assembly is also set to conclude on November 3. And assembly elections in the state might be held in October.
In 2019, the BJP did not reach majority mark. Hence, it was running a coalition government with Dushyant Chautala’s JJP.
The Haryana legislative assembly, comprising 90 members, requires 46 seats for a majority. The BJP currently holds 41 MLAs and enjoys support from six independent MLAs. Additionally, Gopal Kanda’s Haryana Lokhit Party also lends its support to the BJP.