Troubles mount for Dushyant Chautala as JJP MLAs stay away from Delhi meeting

Five JJP MLAs have not reached Delhi to attend a meeting called by Dushyant Chautala to discuss party strategy in the wake of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, sparking speculation that they are likely to walk out.

Written by Varinder Bhatia

Chandigarh | Updated: March 12, 2024 03:42 PM IST

3 min read

Dushyant has called a meeting of all 10 MLAs and other senior leaders of the party in New Delhi to discuss the party’s future strategy in the wake of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. (Photo:: X/@Dchautala)

The trouble brewing in Haryana’s BJP-JJP (Jannayak Janta Party) alliance – Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar resigned on Tuesday ahead of a Cabinet reshuffle – may not be the only cause for concern for JJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala. At least four JJP MLAs are also likely to walk out of the party, The Indian Express has learnt.

These include Narnaund MLA Ram Kumar Gautam, Barwala MLA Jogi Ram Sihag, Guhla MLA Ishwar Singh and Julana MLA Amarjeet Dhanda. It is also likely that Dushyant’s confidant Devender Singh Babli, who was inducted into the Cabinet last year as panchayats minister and has been critical of Dushyant for a while, will be part of the group.

Dushyant has called a meeting of all 10 MLAs and other senior leaders of the party in New Delhi to discuss the party’s future strategy in the wake of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Gautam, Sihag, Singh, Dhanda and Babli are yet to reach Delhi. Besides Dushyant, his mother and Bhadra MLA Naina Chautala, Uklana MLA Anoop Dhanak, Narwana MLA Ram Niwas, and Shahbad MLA Ram Karan are the only ones who have reached Delhi on Tuesday.

Political Pulse | Khattar, ministers resign ahead of Cabinet reshuffle; BJP, JJP head for a split

Meanwhile, the Independent MLAs have started reaching Chandigarh to hold a meeting with the BJP’s top leadership.

Haryana Lokhit Party’s lone MLA in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha, Gopal Kanda, said, “I believe that the BJP-JJP alliance is almost over in Haryana. The BJP should contest all the 10 Lok Sabha polls in Haryana, alone. I had been saying it for long that BJP did not require JJP’s support. I have also been asked to come to Chandigarh today and meet with the BJP’s top leadership. I have reached here. The meeting shall be held after BJP’s internal meeting that begins at 11.30 am.”

Tuesday’s developments come a day after Dushyant shared a stage with top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union minister Nitin Gadkari, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and several others in Gurgaon during the inauguration of the Dwarka expressway on Monday.

A close aide of Dushyant, however, told The Indian Express, “A lot is expected during the day. It is yet to be seen how the day unfolds. Nothing can be said with certainty at this point.”

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Several JJP MLAs had been very vocal in criticising Dushyant Chautala, both inside and outside the Haryana Vidhan Sabha.

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Bharatiya Janata Party Dushyant Chautala Haryana