Political Crisis in Haryana: ML Khattar Resigns; New Govt Formation Soon

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar resigned on Tuesday after meeting Governor Bandaru Dattareya amid the political trouble in the ruling coalition of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Jannayak Janata Party (JJP).

Chandigarh: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar resigned from his post on Tuesday amid the rift between BJP-JJP alliance. As the Lok Sabha elections draw nearer, cracks between political alliances are coming into the spotlight. The most recent hail from Haryana, where the ruling coalition between the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) and the Jannayak Janata Party(JJP) looks to be unraveling over disagreements on seat sharing for the upcoming parliamentary polls 2024.

Khattar had called for an emergency meeting of all BJP Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) in Chandigarh before resigning from his post. The primary agenda of this crucial meeting was to discuss the future of the BJP in Haryana with no alliance with the JJP.

The rift arose from the unresolved issue of seat sharing between the BJP and the JJP. On Monday, Haryana's Deputy CM, Dushyant Chautala, went to meet BJP National President JP Nadda in Delhi and had a detailed discussion addressing the matter of seat allocation. Despite the high-level dialogue, a mutually agreeable seat-sharing formula has not been formed.

Rumours have it that the BJP might opt to not allocate any seats to its coalition partner, the JJP, for the Lok Sabha elections. Such a scenario could potentially disrupt the delicate balance of power within the government. Dushyant Chautala is set to meet with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi to discuss the allocation of two seats for his party in the upcoming LS polls.

Sirsa MLA and President-Haryana Lokhit Party, Gopal Kanda said, "I think the alliance (BJP-JJP) has almost broken. In Lok Sabha elections, BJP will win all 10 seats. Even without JJP, the Haryana govt will stay, and all independent candidates will continue to support BJP."

Assessing the current composition of the 90-member Haryana Assembly, the BJP has 41 MLAs, while the Congress has 30, the JJP 10, and there are 7 Independents, apart from an MLA each of the INLD and Haryana Lokhit Party.

The JJP holds ten MLAs, while the Congress has 30 MLAs. There is one Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) MLA and one independent MLA, Balraj Kundu. Earlier in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had won all 10 parliamentary seats while JJP, which had contested the elections in alliance with AAP, could not put up a fight on 7 seats it contested.

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