Chandigarh: Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) leader Dushyant Chautala, who has emerged as the kingmaker in Haryana, will be meeting his 10 legislators Friday to decide which party to support in order to form the next government in the state, sources said late Thursday night.
The Haryana Assembly poll verdict threw up a fractured mandate with the Congress winning 31 of the 90 seats and the BJP bagging 40. The half-way mark is 46.
Though Dushyant Chautala has remained non-committal on whether his party would support the BJP or the Congress, party sources said that he is likely to meet Union Home Minister and BJP chief Amit Shah soon.
Sources also said that the BJP too would like to have him onboard and make him an equal stakeholder in the Haryana government as it would help reduce dependence on Independents, even though many of them are BJP rebels.
The BJP was weighing its options, sources in the saffron party said. The party first came to power in Haryana in 2014. Till then Haryana was known to be a Congress bastion. However, this time the BJP needs support to form the government. In this scenario, role of both Independents and JJP is crucial.
With 31 seats, the Congress will also need the support of the JJP as well as seven Independents to come to power which looks like an uphill task.
When asked whether his party will support the BJP or the Congress, Chautala remained non-committal.
“It is too early to say anything. We will first summon a meeting of our MLAs, decide who would be our leader in the House and then take it further,” Dushyant Chautala told reporters. “People of Haryana want change,” he added.
Notably, Dushyant had floated the JJP in December last year after a vertical split in the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) following a feud in the Chautala clan. It should be stated here that the INLD was decimated in the polls and could manage to win only one seat.
PTI
