Dissidents May Curdle BJP Hopes In Haryana

Denial of tickets to sitting MLAs could mar the electoral prospects of BJP in this state.

- Kushal Jeena

The denial of party tickets to seven sitting legislatures including two top ministers to contest forthcoming assembly elections in Haryana slated for later this month could mar the electoral prospects of the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party which was otherwise all set to stage a comeback as opposition is a divided house.

The situation within the party has come to such a pass that the dissidents have threatened either to stand as independent candidates or campaign against the official candidates of the party. The MLAs who failed to get re-nomination do not get along with the chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar who has failed to perform during his stint, but is still rated most favourable for the top slot for simple reason that powerful Jat community is divided again into three. The chief minister had a major say in the ticket distribution.

Two ministers are among the seven MLAs were denied a party ticket in the first list of 78 candidates that party announced recently for the October 21 state assembly polls. Deputy Speaker Santosh Yadav, who represented Ateli constituency in Mahendergarh district, too was denied party ticket to re-contest from the seat.

However, among the ministers who have been renominated include Capt Abhimanyu, Ram Bilas Sharma, Anil Vij, Krishan Kumar Bedi, Karan Dev Kamboj, Kavita Jain and O P Dhankar.

The BJP had won 47 seats in the 2014 assembly polls and after won Jind by polls earlier this year, the party’s strength rose to 48. The party has set a target of winning 75 plus seats this time. The state assembly has strength of 90 legislatures