A Kingmaker In 2019, Dushyant Chautala's JJP Falls Flat In This Haryana Election
Dushyant Chautala was trailing behind Congress's Brijendra Singh after the eight round of counting of votes in Haryana's Uchana Kalan assembly seat.
The Jannayak Janta Party founded by Dushyant Singh Chautala, the great-grandson of former deputy prime minister Devi Lal, emerged as the kingmaker after a dream debut in the 2019 Haryana Assembly polls. Back then, the BJP failed to get a majority as it won 40 of the 90 seats, while the Congress won 31 seats.
The JJP had won 10 seats in the elections and ensured the formation of the state government headed by Manohar Lal Khattar. The JJP party got a sweet deal in return of the support as he got two ministerial portfolios, including Deputy Chief Minister's post for Dushyant.
The coalition lasted for four-and-a-half-years before the BJP snapped ties with Chautala's party. The BJP replaced Khattar with Nayab Singh Saini as the Chief Minister and fielded Khattar in the Lok Sabha elections this year.
Coming to this election, JJP's all candidates are trailing in a huge setback for the party. Chautala was trailing behind Congress's Brijendra Singh after the eight round of counting of votes in Haryana's Uchana Kalan.
The JJP fought the assembly election this year in alliance with Chandrashekhar Azad's Azad Samaj Party (ASP-Kanshi Ram). JJP contested 70 seats, while the Azad Samaj Party kept 20 seats for itself. The Jannayak Janta Party had formed a pre-poll alliance with the Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) to target Dalit voters in Haryana but to no avail if trends remained the same.
In Lok Sabha polls, the JJP contested on all 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana. However, it could barely get 0.87% of the votes polled, with all the party candidates losing their security deposits. Later, all district units of the JJP were dissolved.
Three JJP MLAs have left the party for the BJP. In April this year, the party's Haryana unit president Nishan Singh also quit to join the Congress.