ROHTAK, FEB 28: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Haryana on Monday decided not to join the Om Prakash Chautala Government in the state. A state party executive meeting of the BJP chose to extend outside support to the ministry, to be formed by the INLD which had won 46 seats in the mid-term elections to the state Assembly. The BJP, an alliance partner of the INLD, has six MLAs. "We will support them (INLD) from outside," BJP state president O P Grover told UNI after the meeting at the party headquarters here. Grover said the decision to support the Chautala ministry from outside was unanimous and was taken after prolonged discussions. BDP national general secretary Narendra Modi, who is in charge of the party's Haryana affairs, attended the meeting. The newly-elected six BJP MLAs also attended the meeting. The leader of the BJP legislature party would be elected before the commencement of the new Assembly session. The meeting also reviewed the party's dismal performance in the just-concluded Assembly elections. The BJP, in alliance with the INLD, had contested 29 seats, but had to be content with just six. INLD supremo Om Prakash Chautala is scheduled to take over as the 18th Chief Minister at a ceremony being held at Kurukshetra on March two. Chautala, on his election as leader of the INLD legislature party here last weekend, had expressed the wish that the BJP joined his ministry. He left for new Delhi on Monday and was likely to call on Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in this connection.
