BJP’s knee-jerk move in Haryana irks INLD president Chautala

INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala is angry with BJP for having been kept in dark about the timing of the latter’s withdrawal of support from the three-years old Bansi Lal Government on June 22. He was informed by the BJP only on June 22 morning, INLD sources confirmed.

“We have been demanding for the past one and a half years that the BJP should withdraw support from Bansi Lal’s Haryana Vikas Party Government,” a Lok Dal leader claimed.

BJP apparently tried to topple the Bansi Lal Government after becoming aware of the Chief Minister’s ongoing talks with the Congress. “Bansi Lal tied our hands. We had no options but to withdraw,” BJP sourcesexplained.

Lok Dal leaders feel they could have split the HVP and formed their own Government with BJP’s support, had they been warned in advance about the timing of the withdrawal of support. “We were not given enough time to work on the HVP legislators. Though there were a number of dissidents, their numbers could not add up to one third of HVP’s strength so as to avoid the provisions of the Anti-defection Law,” INLD leaders claim.

The Haryana BJP leader Ram Vilas Sharma’s claim of contesting five Lok Sabha seats notwithstanding, the Lok Dal is not ready to part with many seats for the BJP. “That was BJP’s offer for a three-way seat-sharing, with one seat going to HVP and four to BJP. But we rejected the offer straightaway” Lok Dal leaders claim.

Having electoral alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in the 1998 Lok Sabha elections, INLD had won four seats, losing two other seats by a narrow margin: Devi Lal losing Rohtak by 383 votes and Ajay Raj Chautala losing from Bhiwani by 9700votes.

INLD sources claim there was no question of giving up any of these six seats. Besides it would also contest Karnal where its candidate Ummed Singh (better known as Phoolan Devi’s husband) secured over 1.5 lakh votes only to stand third and Mahendragarh which was contested by BSP only to lose to the Congress.

Lok Dal leaders are ready to allow BJP to contest only Ambala (contested last time by Suraj Bhan, presently Governor of Uttar Pradesh) and Faridabad (won by BJP candidate Ram Chandra Baintha) this time. They could consider parting with either Karnal or Mahendragarh if political equations changed in Haryana.

INLD leaders are still hopeful of a split in HVP, if the latter decided to merge with the Congress. “Since Congress was in favour of Assembly polls along with Parliamentary elections, a number of HVP legislators may be denied a re-nomination. None of them want to contest with two years of their present Assembly term still remaining” an INLD leader explained hoping that in such aneventuality HVP might split giving them a chance to come back to power with BJP’s help.