Chandigarh, August 27
Having made up his mind to break away from the BJP, Kuldeep Bishnoi is expected to make a formal announcement tomorrow. A move is afoot by the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) to bring together all non-Congress, non-BJP and non-INLD parties on a common platform and form a “maha alliance.” 

Bishnoi said he would make a final announcement tomorrow at Chandigarh. 

The tone and tenor of Bishnoi (see boxes) has made it abundantly clear that the HJC-BJP alliance is heading for a divorce. Differences between the two parties cropped up after the Lok Sabha elections. The issue has not been resolved despite a series of meeting between Bishnoi and senior BJP leaders, including one with BJP president Amit Shah in Delhi last week.The HJC chief has been adamant on sticking to the terms of a three-year-old agreement where the HJC and the BJP were to contest 45 seats each in the House of 90 in Haryana and a two-and-a-half-year stint as chief minister if the alliance government was formed. 

After the Lok Sabha polls in which the HJC lost both seats it contested, the BJP is unwilling to give the HJC more that 20 seats in the Vidhan Sabha elections, besides saying no to Bishnoi’s claim on the chief ministership.

BJP state president Ram Bilas Sharma, making a halt at Jhajjar during the party’s Vijay Sankalp Yatra, said the alliance was still on and a final call on the issue would be taken by the party high command within next two days. He said the BJP was following the coalition dharma with full sanctity.

“Now the ball is in HJC supremo Kuldeep Bishnoi’s court. The fate of the alliance depends upon him. He should understand the changing political scenario in the state,” he said.

To form a “maha alliance” there have been a series of meetings between Bishnoi and BSP chief ministerial candidate Arvind Sharma. Besides, Jan Chetna Party (JCP) chief Venod Sharma has also held meetings with the HJC chief in New Delhi. There is broad consensus on bringing the mainline political parties together. But the BSP has expressed reservations on bringing the JCP into the alliance.

The BJP, which is already facing the problem of plenty in terms of choice of candidates, has suddenly felt acute shortage of candidates in Sikh-dominated constituencies after the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government constituted a separate Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC). As part of its poll strategy, the BJP feels that it must have some Sikh faces in constituencies (ranging from 30 to 35) that are directly impacted by the decision of bringing about the HSGMC.

Harpal Singh Chheka, a prominent Sikh leader, was invited to join the BJP at its party headquarters in New Delhi yesterday. He is expected to be fielded from the Pehowa Assembly segment as a BJP nominee.

Bakshish Singh, who contested the last Vidhan Sabha poll on a BJP ticket from Neelokheri (Karnal), is expected to be fielded from Asand.

Other names from among the Sikhs doing the rounds include that of Samsher Singh Bogi.

President of the newly former HSGMC Jagdish Singh Jhinda has also demanded adequate representation for Sikh.

The Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP) has announced that it will go alone in the elections. But efforts are being made to convince its leader Gopal Kanda to become a part of the alliance.

(Inputs from Ravinder Saini & Deepender Deswal)

Pani sar se upar ja chuka hai. (They have crossed their limits). We are being betrayed. I have been seeking a meeting but the BJP leaders are not giving time. They had asked for two days to take a final decision which is over now —  Kuldeep Bishnoi, HJCc chief at a rally in Loharu, Bhiwani