Khattar May Resign As Haryana CM After Fresh Crack Appears In BJP-JJP Alliance

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar is likely to resign from his post on Tuesday, according to media reports.

The political landscape in Haryana is set to witness a significant change as the state Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and his Cabinet are expected to submit their resignation today. The alliance between the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state is on the brink of a split, leading to this anticipated move, according to a report in The Economic Times. The current scenario has Union Minister Arjun Munda and BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh traveling to Chandigarh as observers to assess the situation.

According to several media reports, Nayab Saini or Sanjay Bhatia may replace Khattar as the new Chief Minister. Meanwhile, CM Khattar has called BJP and government supported independent MLAs at Haryana residence at 11:30 am today. According to the information, in this meeting BJP can make a strategy on the formula of forming the government with the support of independent MLAs.

The dynamics of the alliance were established after the assembly elections in October 2019, where the BJP secured 40 of the 90 assembly seats, falling short of a simple majority. Subsequently, a post-poll alliance was formed with the JJP, which holds 10 MLAs. Dushyant Chautala, the President and co-founder of JJP, assumed the role of Deputy Chief Minister in the coalition government.

Recent developments indicate a strain in the partnership as Chautala engaged in seat-sharing discussions with BJP chief JP Nadda on March 11. Notably, the BJP had swept all ten Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 General Elections, which is said to have influenced the current negotiations.

Reports suggest that the BJP’s leadership in Haryana is reluctant to allocate any Lok Sabha seats to the JJP for the upcoming elections, despite the latter’s demand for two seats.  JJP wants to field its candidates from Hisar and Bhiwani-Mahendragarh Lok Sabha seats. Current MP from Hisar, Brijendra Singh, left BJP and joined Congress on Sunday.