BJP-HJC divorce likely after Narendra Modi's Kaithal visit

CHANDIGARH: PM Narendra Modi's visit to Kaithal on Tuesday is likely to put an end to the saffron party's alliance with Haryana Janhit Congress for the forthcoming polls. A resurgent BJP is girding up to contest Haryana Assembly polls on its own by jacking up its poll campaign.

The BJP is again banking on the Modi wave to repeat its Lok Sabha performance in the Assembly Polls. The party attributes its performance in Lok Sabha to strong influence of Modi wherein it won seven-out of the eight-seats it contested in Lok Sabha polls. A fact acknowledged by Congress chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda who also claims that the influence has waned in the ongoing assembly polls.

Even though the Prime Minister is unlikely to announce the divorce at the event but a dejected HJC could take a final call. The HJC led by Kuldeep Bishnoi, son of former Haryana chief minister Bhajjan Lal, is feeling sidelined about not being invited to the Prime Minister's Kaithal rally.

Partners in the Lok Sabha elections, the two parties have hit a dead end unable to resolve seat-sharing for the forthcoming Haryana elections.

"The party has not been invited by the BJP. We could take a call on future course of action by tomorrow," HJC's spokesperson, Devi Lal Bishnoi told ET. "BJP's national leaders as well as state leadership are unwilling to talks over the issue," Bishnoi said. The party is sullen that the BJP has sidelined it in the ongoing campaign.

BJP wants its local partner to concede much more than the agreed 45 seats and the post of chief minister in case of a win. As per terms of alliance agreed in 2012, the two parties were to share equal tickets in the assembly polls and also post of chief minister for equal period. The local party is lamenting that the saffron party has closed all doors for talks over the issue. Lately, HJC supremo had wrote a letter to BJP national president Amit Shah and and the party's state affairs in-charge Jagdish Mukhi over the issue of alliance. Meanwhile, the BJP maintained that the Kaithal rally is a government event and not a party affair.

"The prime minister is likely to inaugurate projects worth Rs 1400 crore at the event," a BJP spokesperson said. HJC has been given choice to accept new terms, he maintained.

The local unit of BJP in Haryana is keen to contest on all the 90 seats in the assembly polls.