"We won floor test, will win it again": CM Saini adds to Haryana twist as he arrives at press con with 3 JJP MLAs

Digging in his heels amid claims by the Congress and the JJP that his government was in a minority after three Independent MLAs in their support switched sides, CM Saini called on the Opposition to come clean on the number of legislators who are with them and state the same in writing to the Governor.

Adding a fresh twist to the intriguing sequence of events amid the festering political crisis in the state, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini was flanked by three sitting Jannayak Janata Party MLAs as he addressed media persons on Friday, saying that the Opposition was misleading the people. Digging in his heels amid claims by the Congress and the JJP that his government was in a minority after three Independent MLAs in their support switched sides, CM Saini called on the Opposition to come clean on the number of legislators who are with them and state the same in writing to the Governor.

Earlier, on Thursday, the JJP chief and former deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala wrote to Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, urging his intervention to end the political stalemate in the state. He called on the Governor to seek a floor test at the earliest and impose Presidents' Rule in the state if the government failed to prove its majority in the Assembly. However, in a broad hint that the JJP, itself, was a divided house amid the ongoing political churnings in the state, the CM on Friday arrived at the press conference along with three sitting lawmakers from the opposition party.

Playing down the Opposition claims that the BJP was presiding over a minority government, CM Saini said, "They (Opposition) have nothing to do with the people and only want to mislead them. They should give in writing to the Governor as to how many MLAs they have in their support and not mislead the people. We won the trust vote recently and will win it again if asked to prove majority in the House. They are merely trying to distract public attention from other issues. Corruption and scams were rampant under the previous Congress rule in the state." Meanwhile, BJP candidate from Chandigarh, Sanjay Tandon, and CM Nayab Saini took out a joint roadshow in the capital city on Friday.

Tandon will file his nomination for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections today. Earlier, on Thursday, three Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) legislators met former chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar at the residence of state Panchayat Minister Mahipal Dhanda at Panipat.

According to reports, JJP's Devender Singh Babli, Jogi Ram Sihag, and Ramniwas Surjakhera reached Dhanda's residence in their respective vehicles. However, Dhanda later clarified that the JJP MLAs visited him to enquire about the well-being of his ailing nephew.

Amid the political crisis in Haryana brought on by the withdrawal of support to the BJP government by three Independent MLAs, former deputy chief minister, and JJP supremo, Dushyant Chautala, wrote to Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, seeking his urgent intervention in ending the prevailing political deadlock and impose President's Rule if the incumbent was unable to prove its majority in the Assembly. The JJP chief renewed his offer of 'outside support' to the Congress in bringing down the incumbent BJP government.

On May 7, the Haryana government suffered a big jolt after three independent MLAs withdrew support from the Nayab Saini government, pushing the dispensation into a minority. The three MLAs were Randhir Golan from Pundri, Dharmpal Gonder from Nilokheri, and Sombir Singh Sangwan from Charkhi Dadri. All of them decided to extend support to Congress. However, the BJP appeared confident of retaining power, with former chief minister Manhora Lal Khattar claiming that several leaders of the Congress and the JJP were in touch with his party.

The development came amid the Lok Sabha polls and within two months after Nayab Saini took over as CM, replacing Khattar. In the House of 90, the BJP has 39 MLAs, the Congress has 30, the Jan Nayak Janata Party has 10, the Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP) has one, and the Indian National Lok Dal has one, along with seven Independents.

The BJP, which had 41 MLAs initially, was reduced to 39 when the Karnal and Rania seats fell vacant following the resignation of two MLAs. Earlier, six out of seven Independent MLAs used to support the BJP. With three Independents withdrawing their support, the BJP at present, has the support of three Independents and one HLP MLA, making it a government of 43 MLAs.

The 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state will go to the polls in the penultimate phase on May 25. (ANI)

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