State BJP to toe the line

After the announcement of an alliance with their bitter foes, the Indian National, by the central leadership, state BJP leaders have been forced to eat their own words.

After the announcement of an alliance with their bitter foes, the Indian National INLD, by the central leadership, state BJP leaders have been forced to eat their own words. Having suffered, what they term, insults and humiliations at the hands of the INLD after the two came to power in the Haryana Assembly elections in the year 2000, the BJP had decided to sever relations with its alliance partner in 2004.

The state BJP leaders had since vowed never to have an alliance with the INLD. Till the last moment, they insisted against the alliance, but political compulsions reportedly forced the BJP high command to go ahead with the pact, sources say.

As for the INLD, it has now become part of the National Democratic Alliance NDA again, following another shot at forming a Third Front.

Though seat-sharing between the BJP and the INLD is still to be finalised, sources say the BJP is likely to contest six seats and the INLD four. The INLD would, in all likelihood, be given the Bhiwani, Hisar, Sirsa and Kurukshetra seats. However,sources in the INLD said they would insist for at least five seats.

Meanwhile, the BJP is planning to sound the poll bugle with a state-level rally at Sonepat on October 31, to be attended by senior leader Lal Krishna Advani.

Incidentally, one section of the BJP had also advocated a pact with the newly-formed Haryana Janhit Congress HJC BL of Kuldeep Bishnoi, but the idea did not click with the top brass.

After their break up in the year 2004, the BJP and the INLD fought the last Lok Sabha and Assembly elections on their own. While the BJP managed to win just one seat in the Lok Sabha, the INLD drew a blank. But in the assembly elections that followed the next year, INLD managed to win nine seats, while the BJP had to be content with just two, compared to the six it had won in the previous assembly polls.

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Reacting to the alliance with the INLD, Atam Prakash Manchanada, president, Haryana BJP, who had opposed such an alliance earlier, said they will abide by the wishes of the party High Command. 8220;Ours is a cadre-based party. We will definitely do well in the Lok Sabha polls,8217;8217; he said.

Kishan Chand Sangwan, BJP8217;s lone MP in the state from Sonepat, said the party leaders had expressed their views on the alliance to the high command, but now that the decision was made, the two partners would certainly benefit from the move in their fight against their common enemy, the Congress. Senior BJP leader Gyan Chand Gupta also welcomed the alliance.

Ashok Arora, INLD Haryana president, too welcomed the alliance, saying it was to the benefit of both the parties, as had been proved in the 2000 Lok Sabha and assembly elections in the state as well.

Reacting to the development, Kuldeep Bishnoi, president of the HJC BL, said the alliance would benefit his party as majority of the BJP leaders and party workers hated Chautala. 8220;All the disgruntled elements in the BJP and other parties would now rush to the HJC,8221; he claimed.