Haryana Assembly Elections: Huge Setback For Congress, INLD As Top Leaders Join BJP

In a blow to the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and the Congress, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday welcomed Rampal Majra and the grand old party leader Dudaram into the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This comes ahead of the crucial press conference of the Election Commission today at around 12 noon. The Election Commission is likely to announce the dates for Haryana and Maharashtra Assembly polls today. The schedule for Jharkhand may also be announced at the press conference. The Model Code of Conduct will come into force after the announcement of the poll dates.

The Manohar Lal Khattar government is aiming to increase its tally from 47 to 75 in the 90-member Haryana State Assembly.

On September 15, INLD’s former vice-president Ashok Arora, former Haryana minister Subhash Goyal, MLA Pradeep Chaudhary, Gaganjit Sandhu and Independent MLA Jai Prakash joined the Congress in the presence of AICC General Secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad in party headquarters on Sunday evening.

Earlier, in an exclusive interview to News Nation’s Deepak Chaurasia, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar spoke on a wide range of issues. Khattar, who is on his Jan Ashirwad Yatra, said that the people of Haryana will provide comfortable majority to the incumbent BJP government in the upcoming state polls. Khattar further added that the people of Haryana have witnessed the positive changes that the current government has brought in the state.

During his interview, Khattar launched a scathing attack on the previous governments for ignoring the plights of the people of the state. Ahead of Haryana Assembly polls 2019, the state Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar kicked off his statewide tour ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’ in a bus from Panchkula’s Kalka on August 18. He will reach all the 90 assemblies of the state in a 22-day journey till September 8 and will seek blessings from the people for the next five years.

On the issue of dynastic politics, Khattar said that not only Haryana but the entire country have also rejected this kind of politics. When asked whether the abrogation of Article 370 will play a pivotal role in the upcoming polls, Khattar said that scrapping of Article 370 has always been on the core agenda of Bharatiya Janata Party.