Haryana Crisis: Dushyant Chautala's Efforts To Topple BJP Government Might Falter As JJP MLAs Meet Former CM Khattar

Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) leader Dushyant Chautala, who is seeking to oust the government, is now also being careful about guarding his party members.

Following the withdrawal of support by three Independent MLAs from the BJP, there are efforts to move a no-confidence motion against the Nayab Singh Saini government.

In light of this, a few MLAs from Chautala's party reportedly met with former BJP Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

The meeting took place at the residence of Minister of State Mahipal Dhanda in Panipat, with four JJP MLAs attending the half-hour meeting with Khattar and Dhanda, held around 2 pm.

When quizzed about the JJP MLAs' meeting with Khattar, Chautala reportedly said that this was "not the time to worry about who is meeting whom". The fact remains that the government is in minority, he added.

He further stated, "This is the time of election, 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."

Deepkamal Saharan, the JJP's chief media coordinator, stressed that members must follow the party whip or face expulsion.

He explained, "In various constituencies, we have seen JJP MLAs collaborating with BJP leaders. If they switch parties, they will also face opposition from the BJP's local cadre, and it remains to be seen whether they will be accepted or not."

Earlier this week, the BJP-led government in Haryana faced turmoil as MLAs Sombir Sangwan (from Dadri), Randhir Singh Gollen (from Pundri), and Dharampal Gonder (from Nilokheri) withdrew their support.

Following this, Chautala held a press conference with senior Congress leaders, declaring the BJP government a minority and offering outside support to the Congress if they seek to form a government.

He then wrote a letter to the Governor, requesting a floor test in the assembly. However, he encountered a technicality - only one no-confidence motion can be presented against the government in a single assembly session.

Since the Congress had presented a no-confidence motion in February, and a floor test was conducted in March during the budget session of the assembly, the options for the Opposition are limited until the next assembly session in July.

With the assembly elections scheduled for later this year, toppling the Saini government could largely be seen as a symbolic move, as the assembly's term ends in November.