Gurugram: Three Independent MLAs who were supporting the BJP government led by Nayab Singh Saini in Haryana extended their allegiance to the Congress Tuesday in a shock move. The shift has left the government in the minority, as it now has only 43 MLAs in the 90-member House, which currently has a strength of 88 members, given the resignations of former Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and the BJP’s Hisar Lok Sabha candidate Ranjit Singh.
Bhupinder Singh Hooda, the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, has called for immediate imposition of President’s rule and early elections to the state assembly in response to this development. He was present in Rohtak when the three MLAs—Sombir Sangwan from Charkhi Dadri, Randhir Singh Gollen from Pundri, and Dharampal Gonder from Nilokheri—announced their support for the Congress.
In a press conference at Rohtak in the presence of Hooda and state Congress chief Udai Bhan, the three MLAs said that they have informed the Governor about withdrawing their support from the government.
Addressing mediapersons, Hooda said that the Nayab Singh Saini government is now a minority government and should resign, with President’s rule imposed, followed by early elections in Haryana. The Haryana assembly elections are due in October this year.
However, Parveen Attrey, media secretary to the Haryana Government, countered this, stating that the Nayab Singh Saini government still has the support of 47 MLAs. To come to this figure, he also listed the names of four MLAs of the Dushyant Chautala-led Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), which had withdrawn its support to the Saini government in March.
“We have 40 MLAs of our own, and we have the support of the Haryana Lokhit Party’s Gopal Kanda, two Independents Rakesh Daulatabad (Badshahpur) and Nayan Pal Rawat (Prithla) and four JJP MLAs, Devender Babli (Tohana), Jogi Ram Sihag (Barwala), Ram Kumar Gautam (Narnaund) and Ram Niwas Surjakhera (Narwana),” claimed Attrey.
Attrey also noted that the Congress, under Bhupinder Singh Hooda, had brought a no-confidence motion against Saini’s government on 23 February this year, and no fresh motion could be brought before a lapse of six months from that date.
Hooda, however, told ThePrint that the issue was not about a floor test but about morality.
“After the withdrawal of support by the three MLAs, the Nayab Singh Saini government has lost the moral authority to remain in power,” he said over the phone. “The Governor should immediately dismiss the government and impose President’s Rule besides ordering early elections to the state assembly to respect the people’s mandate.”
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How are assembly numbers adding up?
In the 90-member Haryana assembly, the distribution of seats after the 2019 elections was BJP 40, Congress 31, JJP 10, INLD 1, HLP 1, and Independents 7.
With Congress’ Kuldeep Bishnoi’s resignation as MLA before joining the BJP in 2022 and his son Bhavya winning on a BJP ticket, the BJP’s count rose to 41, while Congress was reduced to 30, with the others remaining the same.
Until March 12, the government had the support of 41 BJP MLAs, 10 JJP MLAs, six of seven Independents (the exception is Meham MLA Balraj Kundu), and HLP MLA Gopal Kanda.
Then, the BJP-JJP alliance ended over seat-sharing and CM Khattar resigned as a member of the state assembly, with Saini taking over. On 13 March, Saini won the confidence motion on 13 March, and the government continued with the backing of 47 MLAs—40 from the BJP, 6 Independents, and HLP’s Kanda. Subsequently, Independent MLA Ranjit Singh resigned and was announced as the BJP candidate for the Hisar Lok Sabha seat, leaving the government with support from 46 members in the effective House of 88.
With Tuesday’s episode, the Nayab Singh Saini government is left with the support of 43 MLAs—BJP 40, Independents 2, and HLP 1—leaving it two short of the majority mark.
During his Rohtak press conference, Hooda claimed that Haryana residents were fed up with the BJP’s policies and the three Independent MLAs resigned in response. He also said that since the election announcement, almost 100 BJP leaders, including 40 MLAs, ex-MLAs, and ex-MPs, joined the Congress, reflecting a desire for change in leadership.
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(Edited by Asavari Singh)