BSP calls off alliance with INLD, forges ties with Saini's LSP for 2019 elections

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Saturday called off its nearly nine-month-old alliance with Haryana's main opposition INLD and forged ties with LSP, an outfit floated by rebel BJP MP Raj Kumar Saini. The development comes days after Om Prakash Chautala-led Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) suffered a humiliating defeat in the Jind bypolls, with party candidate Umed Singh Redhu forfeiting his security deposit, amid the ongoing family feud in the Chautala family.

"On the directions of BSP national president and former UP chief minister Mayawati, the BSP today ends the alliance with the INLD and ties up with the Loktantra Suraksha Party (LSP)," BSP Haryana in-charge Meghraj told reporters in Chandigarh. Meghraj said the decision to snap ties with the INLD was taken by BSP chief after considering the demand of the people of Haryana.

"Our leader Mayawati gave them a chance for staying united. When we entered into an alliance, the INLD was one party. But after Chautala family split, we got a chance to judge them in Jind bypoll," Meghraj said. He said the BSP gave a rethink on the alliance with the INLD after a drubbing of its candidate in the Jind bypoll.

"Out of around 3,400 votes polled to INLD candidate, Redhu managed just 1,000 votes and rest of them were BSP votes. Thereafter, we decided to rethink on the alliance. Our vote bank was disturbed," he claimed.

The BSP leader said the objective of ousting the BJP out of power was unachievable in alliance with the INLD. Under the new arrangement, the BSP and the LSP will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and Haryana Assembly polls, later in the year.

In Haryana, the BSP will contest on eight and the LSP on two Lok Sabha seats, Meghraj said. He further said his party would contest on 35 and the LSP on 55 seats during the Haryana Assembly polls.

Following family feud in the Chautala clan, Ajay Chautala and his two sons Dushyant Chautala and Digvijay Chautala had floated the Jannayak Janata Party last year. Saini, a rebel BJP MP from Kurukshetra had last year floated his 'Loktantra Suraksha Party' and the candidate fielded by him in the Jind bypolls had put up a better performance than INLD's Redhu.

The ruling BJP had won the Jind bypolls while Digvijay Singh Chautala, the candidate of the Jannayak Janata Party, had finished runners up. The INLD and the BSP had entered into an alliance in April last year, which both ruling BJP and opposition Congress had described as a "marriage of convenience" which they entered into just to "grab power" in the state. After forging the alliance, the two parties had announced to jointly contest the 2019 Lok Sabha and Assembly polls.