In Haryana, BJP-JJP alliance treading on a tight rope

The sign of tension between both alliance partners continues to grow after leaders of the two parties have shot salvos at each other with Mr. Deb saying JJP did no favour to BJP by supporting it as the regional party had also joined the government

Jananayak Janata Party leader Dushyant Chautala said their opponents had been talking about the alliance’s disintegration since the beginning but the coalition government was strongly marching forward together. File | Photo Credit: PTI

As the uncertainty over the continuance of the ruling alliance between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) continues, Haryana’s Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala on Friday said their opponents had been talking about the alliance’s disintegration since the beginning, but the coalition government was strongly marching forward together.

Mr. Chautala, who was in Rohtak, responding to a question about the JJP contesting the upcoming Assembly election in 2024 with the BJP, said that he believed that both the parties intended to walk together. “But in the future, if it changes, we can’t tell it today,” he said.

Sign of tension

The speculation surrounding the rift between the alliance came to the fore after BJP’s Haryana affairs incharge Biplab Kumar Deb met Chief Minister Manohar Lal here on Friday, a day after his meeting with four Independents — Dharam Pal Gonder, Rakesh Daultabad, Randhir Singh and Somveer Sangwan in New Delhi, and Gopal Kanda, the lone MLA of the Haryana Lokhit Party.

Mr. Deb had said the MLAs had expressed confidence in the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr. Manohar Lal as they wanted to make Haryana strong and prosperous through the “double engine” government of the BJP and would cooperate for this.

In 2019, after the BJP failed to get the majority in the Assembly election, it forged an alliance with the JJP to form a government in Haryana. JJP leader Dushyant Chautala was made the Deputy Chief Minister.

The sign of tension between both alliance partners continues to grow after leaders of the two parties have shot salvos at each other. Mr. Deb recently said the JJP did no favour to the BJP by supporting it as the regional party had also joined the government.

Replying to this Mr. Chautala on Friday said the alliance was formed with mutual consent under the leadership of the then BJP national president Amit Shah.

He said that at that time, both the parties had together decided to forge an alliance after discussing the interest of the State. “..There was no compulsion on anyone in this nor was there any favour on anyone,” he said.