CHANDIGARH: Haryana BJP MLAs are of the view that the assembly elections due in October this year should be held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls and that there should be no alliance with the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP).
They believe that the party can safely piggyback on the popularity of PM Modi and can return to power in the state for the third time. Sources said the legislators shared their opinion recently in a meeting at Panchkula with party national vice-president Baijayant Jay Panda.
Those who interacted with Panda included MLAs and MPs in the presence of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, besides the state in charge Biplab Kumar Deb, state BJP chief Naib Singh Saini. The MLAs let it be known that if the party has to form its government for a third time on its own majority with JJP as their junior alliance partner, then the assembly and parliamentary polls should be held together so that they could take advantage of the ‘Modi wave’, besides the Ram temple consecration and the party’s recent victories in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
Sources said a few legislators thought that the party should have no pre-poll alliance with the JJP or any other party. Currently, BJP and JJP have an alliance government in the state. “If assembly and Lok Sabha polls are held together, it will give advantage to the party and also improve the party’s vote share,’’ said a party leader, adding that both MPs and MLAs should venture into public and inform the people about the various welfare schemes launched by the state and Central governments.
The BJP currently holds all 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state. The BJP has 41 MLAs in the 90-member Haryana Assembly while the Congress has 30 and the JJP 10. Six of the seven Independent MLAs support the BJP-led government, besides the lone MLA of the Haryana Lokhit Party also supports the government. The Indian National Lok Dal has one MLA.
Piggybacking Modi
They believe that the party can safely piggyback on the popularity of PM Modi and can return to power in the state for the third time. Sources said the legislators shared their opinion recently in a meeting at Panchkula with party national vice-president Baijayant Panda. They believe they can take advantage of the ‘Modi wave’, and Ram temple inauguration.