New Delhi:

Dushyant Chautala — the prime mover behind the bid to pull down the Haryana government led by his former ally — the BJP, appears to have taken reports about his MLAs’ secret meeting with the BJP, with textbook equanimity. Switching parties is normal at election time, he told NDTV this evening. Asked about the possibility of an Operation Lotus by the BJP, which is in a tight corner after three Independent MLAs pulled support to the government, he said, “Then the people of Haryana will come to know”. Then, with a straight face, he added, “Who knows, even the BJP MLAs can switch sides”.

Sources have said that four of the nine MLAs from Mr Chautala’s JJP (Jannayak Janta Party) met the former BJP Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar this afternoon. AT the meeting, held in the Panipat house of state minister Mahipal Dhanda, the current political crisis was discussed.

The BJP had ended the alliance with Mr Chautala, a Deputy Chief Minister in the Manohar Lal Khattar government, in March, as it effected a change of guard in the state ahead of the Lok Sabha election. Nayab Singh Saini was brought in to replace Mr Khattar, and Mr Chautala, after a failed Lok Sabha seat sharing deal, was shown the door.

Earlier this week, after the Independents pulled off support to the government, Mr Chautala responded. He promptly declared that the government is now in minority and asked the Governor for a floor test. Appearing at a press conference with leaders of the Opposition Congress, he also said he was ready to provide the Grand Old Party with outside support should they wish to form a new government.

Today, asked about the JJP MLAs’ meeting with Mr Khattar, Mr Chautala told NDTV this is was “not the time to worry about who is meeting whom”. The fact remains that the government is in minority, he added.

While whip and expulsion were the standard means to deal with rebels, “this is the time of election,” he said. “People will switch parties. If someone has to switch parties we will come to know. Let it come out in public. Who knows, even the BJP MLAs can switch sides,” he said.

The Haryana Assembly, with 90 seats, currently has 88 members, which brings the majority mark down to 45. The BJP has 40 MLAs, including three Independent candidates, and is two short of majority. The Congress has 30 MLAs and three independent candidates supporting it. An undivided JJP would bring its numbers up to 43 MLAs.

This scenario leaves two MLAs unaligned-one from the Haryana Lokhit Party and the other from the INLD.

This evening, INLD MLA Abhay Singh Chautala wrote to the Governor, saying if an assembly session cannot be called, President’s Rule should immediately declared in the state.

New Delhi:

Dushyant Chautala told NDTV Wednesday that no member of his Jannayak Janata Party had quit following last week’s split with the Bharatiya Janata Party in Haryana – a rift that cost the party a prominent place in the ruling alliance and Mr Chautala the Deputy Chief Minister’s chair.

“If you are saying someone has left… then that is wrong. No MLA has resigned or parted ways. Yes, there was a whip that was issued. It was decided we would abstain (from the floor test for the new government led by Nayab Singh Saini) and we did. We had five MLAs at a rally addressed by our President (Ajay Singh Chautala, the founder and Mr Chautala’s father) and five in Chandigarh.”

READ | Ahead Of BJP’s Haryana Floor Test, Ex-Ally’s Whip Raises Eyebrows

“I have not of heard a single MLA resigning. If, in the future, someone resigns, then… I mean, now it is political season, in which one person jumps to one party and a second person jumps back,” Mr Chautala told NDTV.

Mr Chautala also confirmed what was widely reported – that the BJP-JJP rift was over a failed Lok Sabha seat-share deal – but quashed talk that the discord had extended to half his 10 MLAs crossing over. He stressed the JJP cadre remains committed to success in the Lok Sabha election and the Assembly poll.

“I just want one to make one clear statement on all of this… we were discussing seat-share deals in the NDA (the BJP-led alliance). There were four rounds of meetings in Delhi… in the end we could not agree on the numbers, so the JJP expressed its views. We told the BJP will not contest any Lok Sabha seat with them, but said we need to finalise the Assembly deal,” he said.

“I think after that the BJP took its decision – that the Chief Minister (Mr Khattar) will resign and a new government will be formed. We decided not to be part of this government,” he explained.

READ | New Haryana Chief Minister Clears Test Day After BJP-JJP Break-up

Mr Chautala said the decision was taken “as a cadre… as a party” that wanted to go out and win every Lok Sabha seat; Haryana has 10, all of which were won by the BJP in the last election. He said he also told the BJP the two parties also needed to sit down and plan for the Assembly election.

READ | BJP Wants 10/10 In Haryana Lok Sabha Polls, Faces INDIA Challenge

“We demanded Hisar and Bhiwani-Mahendragarh… BJP wanted to give Rohtak. But by then there were messages that we will go out and cut votes…” he said, hinting at behind-the-scenes discord.

“Every party has one agenda – the cadre has to increase and vote share has to increase. In the past we have seen this, even with BJP, which had two MPs and now has 303. I think it is our cadre’s dream also to have all 10 MPs from Haryana and for the state’s voice to be strong,” he continued.

Mr Chautala told NDTV the focus for him, now, is to ensure a first Lok Sabha win for the JJP and then ramp up the party’s strength in the Assembly – from 10 to 46, the magic number that will allow him to form the next state government independent of the BJP or any other party.

Should that target require a re-alignment of political interests, whether with the BJP or the Congress, this cannot be ruled out, Mr Chautala said. “What happens in the future… in different political scenarios… this can only be discussed after the Assembly election. For now our goal is only to work hard and get a good result. Ruling out scenarios for the future is not possible now,” he explained.

BJP-JJP Haryana Break-Up. What Happened?

Ten days ago Mr Chautala was the Deputy Chief Minister and his JJP was a member of the state government. That changed over a whirlwind 48 hours; ML Khattar quit as the Chief Minister, the cabinet followed, and the BJP re-formed the government with support from the independents.

And then there was the JJP’s whip, which directed its MLAs to abstain from a test of the new government’s strength. The whip was seen by some as a calculated move to ensure the new government passed its test, since abstention made it easier for the party to pass the majority mark.

The flux in the state’s political landscape played out against talk the BJP cut its former ally lose to destabilise the opposition INDIA bloc – to force a division of Jat community votes between the two parties – before the Lok Sabha election in April/May and the Assembly election later this year.

Mr Chautala, who maintained radio silence during the split, later issued a diplomatic comment, thanking the people for their support and promising to continue working for the state.

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New Delhi/Gurugram:
As BJP broke up with its Haryana ally Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) yesterday, Manohar Lal Khattar was replaced as the Chief Minister with Nayab Saini. A floor test, – which will most likely be a routine procedure – is scheduled for 11 am.

Here are the top 10 updates on this big story

Chandigarh:

As the BJP revamped its government in Haryana and ended the alliance with the Dushyant Chautala-led Jananyak Janata Party (JJP), his uncle and Indian National Lok Dal leader Abhay Singh Chautala took a veiled swipe at the nephew who lost his Deputy Chief Minister post.

“Gaddari ho jiski buniyad, anjam-e-minaar hona hi tha barbaad,” Abhay Chautala, Ellenabad MLA, posted on X. The lines roughly translate to: “A tower built on the foundation of betrayal is bound to be destroyed.”

गद्दारी हो जिसकी बुनियाद, अंजाम-ए-मीनार होना ही था बर्बाद!

— Abhay Singh Chautala (@AbhaySChautala) March 12, 2024

JJP was formed after a split within the INLD and its first family, led by former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala. While Abhay Chautala remained with the parent party, Dushyant and Digvijay, sons of his elder brother Abhay Singh Chautala, founded the JJP.

A year after its formation, the JJP pulled off a stunning performance in the 2019 Haryana elections, winning 10 seats. The party ate into the support base of its parent party INLD, which was reduced to just one seat in the Assembly. The JJP tied up with the BJP to form the government in Haryana. Dushyant Chautala got the Deputy Chief Minister post and JJP three cabinet berths.

For months now, there was speculation about the BJP and JJP parting ways. The Dushyant Chautala-led party had reportedly asked for two Lok Sabha seats, but BJP was offering only one. When no breakthrough could be reached, the BJP pulled the plug. The Manohar Lal Khattar government stepped down and Nayab Singh Saini was chosen as the new Chief Minister.

The BJP has 40 members in the 90-seat Assembly and it is learnt to have the support of some Independents and a breakaway group of JJP MLAs, giving it a comfortable majority. Interestingly, five JJP MLAs skipped a meeting at Dushyant Chautala’s Delhi residence today, indicating that they may have changed sides. JJP is likely to issue an official statement on its next move tomorrow.

New Delhi/Gurugram:

The BJP and the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) – its alliance partner in Haryana – are headed for a split amid differences over seat-sharing talks ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

Sources said that Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar will meet Governor Bandaru Dattatreya today to submit his resignation.

BJP will form the government with the support of Independent MLAs after dissolving the cabinet, they said.

“We have already extended our support to Chief Minister Manohar Lal-led government. We also discussed the strategy for the Lok Sabha elections. I got the impression that the process of breaking the alliance with JJP has already started,” Haryana Independent MLA Nayan Rawat told reporters after meeting Mr Khattar.

This, however, is not sure if it’s Mr Khattar who will take oath as the Chief Minister again. Party sources said that the veteran leader may contest the Lok Sabha elections from Karnal.

This comes a day after JJP leader Dushyant Chautala met the BJP president J P Nadda to discuss the seat-sharing among the two allies in the state.

In the last bid to save the alliance, Dushyant Chautala will also meet Home Minister Amit Shah today.

The BJP had won all 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state in the previous elections in 2019. The JJP had allied with the party after the assembly polls.

Chandigarh:

Former Union Minister Birender Singh on Monday threatened to quit his party, the BJP, if it continues its alliance with Dushyant Chautala-led Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) in Haryana.

The JJP is a junior partner in the BJP-led government in Haryana. Dushyant Chautala is the Deputy Chief Minister.

“If the BJP-JJP alliance continues, then I will leave BJP,” the former minister, who was earlier in the Congress, made the remarks at a public rally, “Meri Awaz Suno”, in Jind.

He also said that he has got a lot of respect from the BJP and there is no reason for him to criticise the party. “But Birender Singh always speaks his mind and that is my nature,” he said.

Accusing the JJP of indulging in rampant corruption, the BJP leader said, “A big leader of the JJP has betrayed the people in such a massive way that no other political leader of Haryana has.”

Birender Singh, who crossed over to the BJP in 2014, is a prominent Jat face from Haryana. He has also been a three-time minister in the Haryana government.

Birender Singh’s family and JJP chief Ajay Singh Chautala’s family are political arch-rivals.

The bone of contention, say reports, is who will get the Uchana Kalan seat, which is a family stronghold of Birender Singh.  

In 2014, Prem Lata, Birender Singh’s wife, defeated Dushyant Chautala. In 2019, the JJP leader avenged his loss. Political observers say the seat is likely to go to Dushyant Chautala again his time.

Dushyant Chautala too has made it known that he wishes to contest from the same seat. Birender Singh’s family too wants the same seat.

There has been no reaction from the BJP on the leader’s statement. 

Gurugram:

The GST lucky draw ‘Mera Bill Mera Adhikar’ scheme was launched in six states and Union Territories on Friday and the Centre and states have set aside a Rs 30-crore corpus for this fiscal for the reward scheme.

Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala said the mobile app for the scheme has been downloaded by over 50,000 people so far.

Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra said the ‘Mera Bill Mera Adhikar’ GST lucky draw is being launched on a pilot basis in six states and the prize money will be contributed equally by the Centre as well as states.

“GST has benefitted citizens, customers and governments. Revenues are increasing every month and Centre and states have come together to ensure that tax rates comes down under GST,” Malhotra said.

As against 15 per cent revenue neutral rate as envisioned before GST launch, the average GST rate today is 12 per cent, he said.

The average GST collection every month this fiscal has been Rs 1.60 lakh crore.

The government on Friday launched the Mera Bill Mera Adhikar scheme on a pilot basis on September 1 in Assam, Gujarat & Haryana and UTs of Puducherry, Dadra Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu.

Every Month there will be 810 lucky draws. Every quarter there will be 2 bumper lucky draws.

The monthly draws include 800 lucky draws of GST invoices of prize value of Rs 10,000 each and 10 draws with prize of Rs 10 lakh each.

Every quarter the bumper draw would be Rs 1 crore each.

“People should know that GST invoice is their right, it is required for after sales service, and to make people aware we have launched this scheme,” Malhotra said.