Haryana crisis: 5 JJP MLAs back BJP in big setback to Dushyant Chautala

Five JJP MLAs have ditched Dushyant Chautala and are likely to join the next Haryana government headed by Nayab Singh Saini, India Today reported on Tuesday. Earlier in the day, the BJP broke the alliance with Dushyant Chutala's JJP over seat-sharing of Lok Sabha seats. Now it has emerged that five of the JJP's 10 MLAs have also gone with the BJP. 

India Today reported that Narnaund MLA Ram Kumar Gautam, Barwala MLA Jogi Ram Sihag, Guhla MLA Ishwar Singh, and Julana MLA Amarjeet Dhanda did not attend the meeting called by Dushyant Chautala in Delhi. The report said that Dushyant's confidant Devender Singh Babli, who was inducted into the Cabinet last year as panchayats minister, may also leave JJP. 

JJP leader Dushyant Chautala was the deputy chief minister and there were two other members of his party in the Khattar-led government. The BJP, which won all 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana by large margins in 2019, appeared keen to fight the upcoming parliamentary polls on its own. The alliance between BJP and JJP broke over Lok Sabha seats. 

The JJP wanted to contest 2 seats - Hisar and Bhiwani. However, the BJP was ready to give only one seat. The JJP has now announced that it will contest all 10 Lok Sabha seats and 90 assembly seats.