Haryana election result 2019: Must unite, appeals Bhupinder Hooda as Haryana heads for a hung assembly

Haryana election result 2019: A Congress leader said Hooda, who had played a lead role in driving the party’s election campaign in Haryana along with state party chief Kumari Shelja, had been clearly told that he could take the call on negotiations with other political formations if the BJP falls short of majority.

As Haryana appeared headed for a hung assembly, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday phoned former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda to discuss the emerging political situation in the state and told him that he had a free hand to decide the next step, two people familiar with the development said.

In a brief interaction with the media, Bhupinder Singh Hooda issued an open appeal to all parties to unite. (Photo @BhupinderSHooda)

The Bharatiya Janata Party, which fought the state election under the leadership of chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, appears to be falling short of the majority mark of 46 in the 90-member assembly. The ruling BJP, which is headed to become the largest party, could end up with just about 41 seats, according to C-Voter which is tracking election results.

A Congress leader said Hooda, who had played a lead role in driving the party’s election campaign in Haryana along with state party chief Kumari Shelja, had been clearly told that he could take the call on negotiations with other political formations if the BJP falls short of majority.

The reference to possible talks with other formations is seen as a reference to mainly the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) of Dushyant Chautala, which is leading in nine seats and aspires to play the kingmaker’s role in case of a hung assembly.

In a brief interaction with the media, Bhupinder Singh Hooda issued an open appeal to all parties to unite. “We should form a strong government,” he said, naming Dushayant Chautala’s JJP and the Indian National Lok Dal as some of the parties that could come together.

The former chief minister described the Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP’s inability to get a clear majority in the state elections as a mandate against the BJP. Hooda also accused the Khattar government of pressurising Independent candidates to back the BJP.