Haryana has a total of 10 Lok Sabha seats and the BJP won all of them in the 2019 elections. Hence, the BJP is in no mood to cede even an inch here to the JJP. (File pic/PTI)
The BJP is in no mood to tie up again with its current ally Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), and is readying to contest all 10 Lok Sabha seats on its own, say sources
The Assembly polls in four states are nearly over and the rest of India has quietly gone into the the Lok Sabha mode for the grand finale in 2024. Haryana is no different where the BJP is getting poll ready for both the Lok Sabha as well as Assembly elections next year.
But the BJP is in no mood to tie up again with its current ally Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), and is readying to contest all 10 Lok Sabha seats on its own, say sources. What’s more? The saffron party will go on a Rath Yatra across the state a couple of days after the results of the Assembly elections are announced on December 3.
The reason for the 50-day-long rath yatra is to send a “loud and clear message to Dushyant Chautala”, founder of JJP, that BJP will go solo in Haryana as far as the Lok Sabha elections are concerned. The same BJP source added that the majority of the state BJP leadership is of the view that the BJP should also go solo in the assembly poll as well. Former minister Birendra Singh has been openly advocating for junking JJP, for a few months now. The yatra will be a way to “communicate that the BJP isn’t dependent on JJP even in the assembly polls”, the BJP source added.
So, what will happen during the rath yatra? Raths — a tried and tested campaign machinery of the BJP will be deployed to carry the message of both welfare measures of Manohar Lal Khattar government as well steps taken by the Narendra Modi government for making India a “developed” nation from being a developing one.
Haryana has a total of 10 Lok Sabha seats and the BJP won all of them in the 2019 elections. Hence, the BJP is in no mood to cede even an inch here to the JJP. The BJP leaning on its tried and tested electoral strategy — consolidating non-jat voters in a state where Jats have historically dominated the political space. No wonder, it brought a new party president in the state at the end of October in form of Nayab Singh Saini — a non-Jat. Before this appointment, Chief Minister Khattar had a meeting with PM Modi, which reflects the endorsement by New Delhi.
Given the fact, Saini is an OBC, the BJP hopes to reach out to the backward castes leaving the Jat vote share to be exploited between the Congress, JJP and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD).
With strong Jat faces — Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led Congress, Om Prakash Chautala-led INLD and Dushyant Chautala-led JJP — vying for 25% Jat votes, BJP’s 2024 strategy remains same, that is, to consolidate the remaining 75%.
“We have to get ready to win eight civic body polls, 10 Lok Sabha seats and form the government for the third time in Haryana,” said Khattar recently setting the goal.
The Rath Yatra from December 5 will see big names such as CM Manohar Lal Khattar, former president OP Dhankar, state in charge Biplab Deb and newly appointed President Nayab Singh Saini while central leaders will also join in intermittently, say BJP sources.
