While the 2024 Assembly election draws near, political parties in Haryana seem to be in a state of frenzy. Neither the incumbent BJP, its ally Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), nor the main Opposition, Congress, seems to be in a position to take the forthcoming assembly lightly. In addition to this, JJP leader Digvijay Chautala’s statement that he is “not much in favour of running a government as an alliance” has led some ruckus, along with new speculations in political spheres. Chautala is of the opinion that the JJP’s showing in the previous state elections- 20 Assembly seats out of 90 and a 20 per cent share in the coalition government- reflects poorly on the party. He urged voters to get the party “at least” 46 seats- the number required to form the government in the state. The BJP and the JJP have not seen eye-to-eye over a string of issues such as the farmers’ agitation and e-tendering, which has resulted in a rift in the alliance. Political observers note that BJP bigwigs have indicated that they would prefer to contest the upcoming polls alone. Adding to the JJP’s woes, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said that the party high command would ultimately decide on the future of the alliance.
However, following the result of the Karnataka polls and JJP’s decision to contest polls on at least 25 to 28 seats, the BJP leaders seem to have softened their approach to their ally. Recently, the Chief Minister said that he has an optimistic approach towards the existing alliance. Earlier, in a bid to decrease its dependency on ally JJP, BJP leadership remained firm that at present the alliance was only to run the government and that commenting on the future of the alliance would not be appropriate.
Now, however, some political experts are of the opinion that Chautala’s latest statements should be considered an attempt by the JJP to put pressure on its ally ahead of the polls. It is clearly evident from the ongoing scenario that JJP is leaving no stone unturned to prove its mettle.