New Delhi, June 13 (IANS) The BJP, which formed the government in Haryana in alliance with Dushyant Chautala’s Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) after failing to get an absolute majority in 2019, seems to have now made up its mind to return to non-Jat politics in the state.
According to BJP sources, JJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala has been indicated by the saffron party that if he wants, he can opt out of the alliance.
The BJP has now made up its mind to focus on non-Jat voters in the state in view of the 2024 Lok Sabha and the subsequent Assembly elections, sources said.
The saffron party is banking upon independent MLAs to save its government in the states. Besides this, it is working on multiple levels to strengthen its presence among the non-Jat voters.
In 90-member Haryana Assembly, the BJP currently has 41 MLAs, while the JJP has 10. If JJP opts out of the coalition, then BJP will need at least five more MLAs to save the government. This is the reason why in the last few days, Haryana BJP in-charge Biplab Kumar Deb has met met four Independent MLAs – Dharampal Gonder, Rakesh Daulatabad, Randhir Singh Gollen and Somveer Sangwan – and Haryana Lokhit Party MLA Gopal Kanda.
With support of Gopal Kanda and all seven independent MLAs, BJP’s tally reaches 49, sources elaborated.
Like 2019, in 2024 also, the BJP has made a strategy to focus on non-Jat voters to win all the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana and to get a majority on its own in the Assembly elections.
Jats, with estimated vote share of 25 per cent, play an important role in influencing election results on 35 Assembly seats in the state.
The BJP is especially eyeing on Dalits, who have the biggest vote share in the state after Jats. About 21 per cent of the voters in the state come from Dalit community and this is the reason why the Mayawati-led BSP, which could not win even a single seat in the 2019 Assembly elections, got 4.14 per cent votes in the state.
The non-Jat voters in the state, comprises Dalits , Brahmins , Banias , Punjabis , Sikhs, Gujjars and Ahirs. They have estimated vote share of 69 to 71 per cent.
BJP strategists believe that there are many contenders for Jat votes in Haryana and their division is certain. The party is also assuming that due to the farmers’ and wrestlers’ movement, it is very less likely to get the votes of the Jats and in such a situation the party can get more benefit by focusing on the voters from other communities.
In the 2014 Assembly elections, the BJP had formed the government alone in Haryana for the first time by winning 47 seats.
–IANS
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