Cracks surface in BJP-HJC alliance post Lok Sabha polls

Cracks have surfaced in the BJP-HJC alliance in Haryana post LS polls, with demands from certain sections in Bharatiya Janata Party’s state unit to either rework the tie-up or go it alone in assembly election.

While the HJC, led by Kuldeep Bishnoi, younger son of former chief minister, late Bhajan Lal, asserts that they were ‘committed to be in alliance’ with the BJP on the earlier agreed upon conditions, the BJP leaders, however, maintain that things had changed post the Lok Sabha polls.

‘It is true that elections are drawing near. As far as my party’s state unit is concerned, we have conveyed the sentiments of our workers to our party high command and it now for the BJP’s parliamentary board to decide the next step,’ Haryana BJP’s legislature party leader, Anil Vij said on Monday.

BJP chief Amit Shah recently held meetings with leaders of the party’s state unit and asked the partymen to gear up to ensure victory at the hustings.

‘We had discussions with our central leadership on the alliance issue,’ Vij said.

‘A section of our workers wants us to contest alone while others want that we should rework the terms and conditions of the alliance as things had changed after the Lok Sabha polls,’ he said.

Vij said Bishnoi had failed to retain his Lok Sabha seat from Hisar while another of his party candidate had lost from Sirsa parliamentary constituency.

Out of the ten Lok Sabha seats in Haryana, ruling Congress managed to win just the Rohtak seat, the only seat from where the BJP candidate lost, while the two seats were won by the main opposition INLD.

‘A section of our workers feels that as per the earlier terms and conditions, it will not be a wise step to project Bishnoi as the alliance’s chief ministerial candidate as he had failed to retain his seat in his own place (Hisar) while another of his party candidate had also lost.