Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) Chief Dushyant Chautala (Right) and Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) leader Chandra Shekhar Azad (Left) at a press conference after forming an alliance for the Haryana Assembly elections, in New Delhi, Tuesday, August 27, 2024.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: The fight for Dalit votes in poll-bound Haryana took another turn on Tuesday with the Dushyant Chautala-led Jannayak Janata Party announcing an electoral alliance with Chandra Shekhar Azad-led Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram).
The move is expected to bring some relief to JJP, whose seven out of ten MLAs have shifted base to other parties, also marking an entry for Chandrasekhar's ASP (Kanshi Ram) to Haryana where it is debuting in polls.
JJP will contest 70, leaving the rest 20 to its new ally with a hope to attract Dalits to the Jat-dominated party. Haryana has around 21 per cent Dalits in its population. INLD, the parent party of the JJP before the Chautalas split, has already aligned with the Mayawati-led BSP.
Dushyant told a press conference in the presence of Chandrasekhar, “the coming together of farmers and labourers will prove to be a strong step towards building a better future for Haryana.”
Azad referred to Dushyant as the “future Chief Minister” of Haryana and said, “we both will continue to raise the voice of farmers for the next 40-50 years. Our efforts will ensure a strong foundation for Haryana’s future, improve the income of farmers, and elevate the standard of education.”
The JJP is fighting an existential battle in this Assembly election, scheduled for October 1, after MLAs deserting it for Congress and BJP. Of the three MLAs still in the party, two are former Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant and his mother Naina Chautala. Several party workers have also left the party.
A kingmaker in 2019 with ten MLAs, JJP had come out of its alliance with the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha election. However, it could not capitalise on its move as farmers and Jats did not rally behind JJP, which also failed to lead in any Assembly seat in the ten Lok Sabha constituencies.
Dushyant, the grandson of Om Prakash Chautala, formed JJP in 2018 after splitting from INLD following differences between his father Ajay Chautala and uncle Abhay Chautala. JJP’s formation had led to the weakening of INLD in the state in 2019 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
The JJP lost its grip among the Jats as it continued to be part of the BJP government during the protests by farmers and wrestlers.