The alliance between the Jannayak Janata Party and Aam Aadmi Party for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Haryana, announced on Friday, is unlikely to make much impact on the political situation in the State where the BJP and Congress are expected to be involved in a direct contest on all 10 seats, believe political analysts.
Both AAP, which has gradually lost ground in the State owing to a lack of dynamic leadership post-2014, and the JJP, a regional party formed after a split in the Indian National Lok Dal barely five months ago, do not have much stakes in the upcoming Lok Sabha election except in Hisar parliamentary constituency, represented by JJP leader Dushyant Chautala.
Since AAP national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, a native of Bhiwani’s Siwani village, has been active in the Hisar-Bhiwani-Rohtak region holding rallies and road shows, Mr. Chautala could be marginally benefit from the tie-up. Mr. Kejriwal, a Baniya, could also help the alliance win over around 5% votes of his community in the State.
Though AAP claims that it has been looking for alliances to defeat the BJP, former Haryana Agriculture University professor-turned-political analyst Ram Kanwar argues that the tie-up could actually help the BJP by cutting into the votes of the Congress.
‘Cong. may take a hit’
“Over the past few years, the traditional Congress voters among Backward Classes and other non-Jat communities have shifted to the BJP. The Jat voters are divided between the JJP and the Congress, looking for an alternative to the BJP. In such a scenario, the JJP, helped by the alliance with AAP, could mar prospects of the Congress,” said Mr. Kanwar.
The urban face of AAP could, however, help the JJP, largely having support base in rural Haryana, to expand in the cities, said a JJP leader. AAP, in turn, would get an opportunity to make inroads into rural areas of the State riding on the back of JJP.
The work done by AAP in Delhi to improve government schools and hospitals could also help the alliance win over the weaker sections. The party has now been holding “School-Aspatal” rallies in Haryana for over a year to take its Delhi model of development to the electorate.
The JJP could also hope to benefit from the tie-up in the Assembly elections due later this year. With the INLD losing some seats by small margins in Sonipat, Ambala and Gurugram districts in the last Assembly elections — Congress’ Jai Tirth Dahiya had defeated INLD’s Inderjeet Dahiya by only three votes in Sonipat’s Rai Assembly constituency — the alliance could come handy in close contests this time around.
