Manohar Lal Khattar on Tuesday resigned as chief minister of Haryana after cracks appeared in the ruling coalition of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) in the state ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
The ties between the BJP and the JJP led by deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala have worsened following their failure to reach a seat-sharing agreement in the state for the Lok Sabha elections. The BJP had won all 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state in 2019 elections.
Independent MLA Nayan Pal Rawat on Tuesday claimed that the alliance is at break point but some independent MLAs who support the ML Khattar government would ensure its survival, news agency ANI reported.
The top leadership of both the BJP and JJP (Jannayak Janata Party) have called separate meetings for their respective MLAs. Before that, Manohar Lal Khattar will hold a meeting of all BJP ministers at his residence.
According to sources, Central BJP leaders, such as Union minister Arjun Munda and former Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb, have arrived in the state to supervise the changes.
The nature of the change is unclear, with senior party leaders keeping quiet.
BJP May End Haryana Alliance, ML Khattar To Fight Lok Sabha Polls: Sources
The BJP will form the government with the support of some Independent MLAs after dissolving the cabinet, sources said.
The BJP and the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) – its alliance partner in Haryana – are headed for a split amid differences over seat-sharing talks ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
According to sources, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar will be meeting with Governor Bandaru Dattatreya today to submit his resignation.
BJP will form the government with the support of Independent MLAs after dissolving the cabinet, they said.
“We have already extended our support to Chief Minister Manohar Lal-led government. We also discussed the strategy for the Lok Sabha elections. I got the impression that the process of breaking the alliance with JJP has already started,” Haryana Independent MLA Nayan Rawat told reporters after meeting Mr Khattar.
This, however, is not sure if it’s Mr Khattar who will take oath as the Chief Minister again. According to party sources, the veteran leader could contest the Lok Sabha elections from Karnal.
This comes a day after JJP leader Dushyant Chautala met with BJP president J P Nadda to discuss seat-sharing among the two allies in the state.
In the last bid to save the alliance, Dushyant Chautala will also meet Home Minister Amit Shah today.
In 2019, the BJP won all 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state during the previous elections. The JJP had allied with the party after the assembly polls.
