Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, all eyes are on the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) alliance with the Jannayaka Janata Party (JJP) in Haryana. Speculations are rife in the state and every one, from political pundits to village gatherings has only one question on their mind: will the alliance break?
A major reason behind this new wave of speculation is the recent activism of both parties. The BJP, for instance, has suddenly increased its focus on the state with central leadership holding frequent public meetings to lobby for votes ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. During his closely-watched rally in Sirsa, Union Home Minister Amit Shah fueled these discussions further with his proclamations that the BJP would contest all 10 Lok Sabha seats in the district. Home Minister Shah clearly said that the party was standing strong on eight out of 10 seats in the state, although Rohtak (Dr Arvind Sharma) and Sirsa (Sunita Duggal) pose somewhat of a challenge. Union Home Minister Amit Shah also visited MLA and Power Minister Ranjit Chautala’s residence, making it clear that the party wants the Independent, who has been publicly supportive of the party’s policies. A meeting of the BJP core group shortly after the rally also pointed in the same direction.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will also rally in Haryana on 29 June. The rally earlier to be held in Ambala, has been shifted to Jagadhari in Yamuna Nagar. After the Assembly elections in 2019, BJP was close to forming a government with 40 seats in the state, and then an alliance with JJP to form a government. At that time, a strong alliance was formed with 10 MLAs of Dushyant Chautala’s JJP at Amit Shah’s residence, but now the current situation indicates visible cracks. The 2019 Lok Sabha elections saw the first clean sweep in Haryana by a single political party after several years. The BJP in 2024 will not want an agreement which will reduce the number of their seats, the result of which can be seen in the election results since the JJP does not have a single Lok Sabha seat in its account today. Additionally, the government can run easily with the help of Independents. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s government is not in any danger even if the BJP and JJP do party ways. Independents in the state have already kept the government in a strong position by extending their support publicly. Haryana state in-charge Biplab Deb’s recent comments indicate that the party is clearly confident in its strategy. Chief Minister Khattar has also said that there was no agreement before the elections and that an alliance was made in an hour of need, so there is no further discussion to be had. Both parties have openly announced that they have begun preparations to contest all 10 Lok Sabha seats for their respective Missions 2024, raising questions about the continuity of the alliance.
