IANS/Chandigarh
The Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) yesterday ended its alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
HJC president Kuldeep Bishnoi, who announced the decision at a press conference, accused the BJP of “betrayal.”
The BJP hit back immediately, saying Bishnoi’s “personal political ambitions” was responsible for the split.
The HJC also announced its new alliance with the newly-floated Jan Chetna Party (JCP) of former federal minister and ex-Congress member Venod Sharma.
The move comes ahead of assembly elections in Haryana, most probably in October.
“The BJP continued to betray me constantly. We tried to keep the alliance but (failed). We hoped they (the BJP) will change but they did not. We are pulling out of this alliance,” Bishnoi, son of former chief minister and non-Jat strongman Bhajan Lal, said here.
“The BJP is taking corrupt and goonda leaders from other parties, especially the Congress. We could not have carried on with them in such circumstances.
“The entire party (BJP) is ‘dhokebaaz’. I cannot name one particular leader. The BJP central leadership also betrayed me. We had a written alliance agreement,” an upset Bishnoi said.
“The BJP has betrayed Bansi Lal, Devi Lal and Om Prakash Chautala in the past. They have made it a habit,” Bishnoi said.
The split between the BJP and HJC was evident as in recent weeks senior leaders from both sides made statements against each other and blamed each other for the impending break.
State BJP president Ram Bilas Sharma said Bishnoi was responsible for breaking the alliance. “It is good he has broken it and shown us where he stands,” he said.
“We never wanted to break the alliance. Bishnoi has taken the decision but this will not affect the BJP. He (Bishnoi) has not done a good thing,” Sharma said, adding that the BJP will contest all 90 assembly seats and win the assembly polls.
Jat leader Birender Singh, who quit the Congress recently and joined the BJP, too said that the BJP will not be affected by the break-up of the alliance.
The BJP, which allied with the HJC in 2011, was earlier ready to play second fiddle to the HJC.
BJP leaders like then president Nitin Gadkari and Sushma Swaraj, who worked out the alliance, had even publicly declared that Bishnoi would be the chief minister if the alliance was voted to power.
The parties contested the recent Lok Sabha polls together. The BJP won seven seats in the state. The HJC lost both seats it contested.
Later, the BJP declined to offer too many seats to HJC in the assembly elections, and refused to declare Bishnoi the chief ministerial candidate.
In New Delhi, the BJP accused the HJC of working as the ‘B’ team of the ruling Congress in Haryana.
Bishnoi was attempting to divide the anti-Congress vote in the upcoming assembly election, BJP spokesman Shahnawaz Hussain said.
“By snapping ties with the BJP, Bishnoi is going to work as a ‘B’ team of the Congress and help Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda,” Hussain said.
He, however, expressed the hope that the BJP will still do well in the election.
“The people of Haryana are ready for a change. There is a wave for change. Having seen how Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ushered change in the country and is working for development, people of the state are ready to walk along with the BJP, so that the pride of Haryana is restored,” he said.
lThe BJP yesterday named Gorakhpur MP Yogi Adityanath as one of its star campaigners for by-elections in Uttar Pradesh to be held on September 13.
Adityanath has been a vocal and firebrand Hindutva leader who courted controversy recently after video footage showed him daring people behind what the party calls ‘Love Jihad’. He allegedly threatened to convert 100 Muslim girls to Hindusim for each Hindu converted to Islam.
The 42-year-old MP was recently locked in a battle of words with Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav in the Lok Sabha during a debate.
He has often accused the SP and the Congress of appeasing the Muslim community for electoral gains.
u201cWe tried to keep the alliance but failed. We hoped they will change but they did notu201d
