Haryana election results 2019: Dushyant Chautala's JJP may support BJP
With the counting of votes reaching conclusion and Haryana set to witness a hung Assembly, fresh reports suggest that the man of the moment Dushyant Chautala's Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) may extend its support to incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The outgoing CM Manohar Lal Khattar has reportedly sought time to meet state Governor Satyadev Narayan Arya to stake claim to form the government.
Neck-to-neck fight between BJP, Congress; Chautala emerges as kingmaker
Since this morning, there have been speculations as to who "kingmaker" Chautala shall bring to power, after trends suggested a close fight between BJP and Congress. At the time of writing this report, BJP was leading/winning on 40 seats, Congress on 31 seats, while JJP emerged as third largest party with leads/wins on 10 seats. The magic number needed to form government is 46/90.
Earlier, Amit Shah summoned Khattar to Delhi
Seeing results contrary to its expectations, BJP was clearly left disappointed after the counting began. Subsequently, Union Home Minister and BJP's think-tank Amit Shah summoned Khattar to Delhi, to discuss the plan of action. Moreover, several reports suggested that BJP Haryana chief Subhash Barala had resigned from the top post. However, terming it a "rumor", Barala dismissed these reports.
Meanwhile, PM Modi thanked the people of Haryana
However, Chautala remains non-committal over which party to support
As the state stares at an uncertain future, Chautala's one-year-old party holds the key to government formation in Haryana. Evidently, Chautala has been approached by both the BJP and Congress. However, the 31-year-old leader remains non-committal over which party he wishes to support. Earlier, Chautala made it clear that he will support the party which shall offer him the Chief Minister's post.
Congress might offer CM post to Chautala, upon coalition
On the other hand, Congress is also looking to make a comeback of sorts, in Haryana. According to reports, the party's interim President Sonia Gandhi has given senior party leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda a "free hand" to team up with Chautala. Meanwhile, Hooda, a two-time former Haryana CM, has urged all opposition parties to come together and replace the sitting Khattar government.
