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Haryana politics: Break up in state, a strategy in play
The developments in Haryana just ahead of the upcoming polls - the Lok Sabha and the assembly- have stoked curiosity about how the BJP will spin the narrative about the break-up of the alliance
What started as discussions on seat sharing in the span of a day ended with the announcement of a split in the alliance between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)- Jananayak Janhit Party (JJP) in Haryana. A change in the state’s leadership, with the legislators sanctioning the name of Nayab Saini as the new chief minister in place of Manohar Lal Khattar ensued.
The developments in Haryana just ahead of the upcoming elections - the Lok Sabha and the assembly polls- have stoked curiosity about how the BJP will spin the narrative about the break-up of the alliance in its election campaign at a time when it is assiduously adding more allies to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), including those such as the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) that had walked out of it in the past.
The JJP holds influence over the politically significant Jat community in the state that accounts 27% of the electorate.
The BJP’s strategy has been to consolidate its position among the non-dominant castes, the OBCs, while relying on its partner the JJP to bring in the Jat vote. Its own leadership from the community is still fledgling.
The JJP which emerged as a political front in December 2018 after a split in the INLD won ten seats in the 2019 Assembly election and helped BJP to form government in the state when it fell short of numbers.
Protests over Jat reservation, farmers agitation over the now rolled back farm laws, the wrestlers’ allegations against BJP strongman and former wrestling federation chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh put a strain on the BJP-JJP ties, but the alliance survived.
The timing of the alliance being called off has fuelled speculation that the move could be strategic.
The breakup will allow the JJP to protect its turf and allow the BJP to make overtures toward the OBCs.
It has already extended an olive branch to the OBCs that are between 8-10% in the state by appointing an OBC CM.
The BJP does not discount gaining the support of the Jats entirely.
While it has propped leaders from the community its alliance with the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), a party that counts Jats as its support base has given the party hope of being able to tap into the vote bank.
The party is also banking on the new CM to shed anti-incumbency against the government that’s been in power for ten years.
The party has since 2021 followed the practice of replacing incumbent CMs ahead of elections to allow fresh faces to lead the party to polls.
