Keen to make its presence in Haryana, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has not ruled out the possibility of alliance talks with Lok Sabha MP Dushyant Chautala’s Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Haryana.
Speaking to The Indian Express Thursday, AAP Haryana unit president Naveen Jaihind said that talks with like-minded parties, including JJP and BSP, may take place. “Our prime aim is to defeat the CBI, Congress, BJP and INLD in Haryana. Except for these parties, we may hold talks for alliance with any party,” said Jaihind.
The AAP supported JJP candidate Digvijay Chautala who came second in the recently concluded Jind bypoll, leaving third and fifth spot for Congress and the INLD-BSP alliance. After Jind election, the BSP indicated that it may snap ties with INLD if the Chautala family joins hands again”.
When asked about an alliance possibility with AAP in Haryana, BSP state unit president Prakash Bharti told The Indian Express that possibilities can’t be ruled out in politics. “We will see if there is any offer for talks. Possibilities keep emerging in the politics. As of now, we have an alliance with the INLD,” said Bharti.
On the JJP-AAP alliance, Digvijay Chautala said discussions take place about those who matter in politics and can offer an alternative in Haryana. “Nobody talks about those on the third and fourth spot in politics,” he said. The JJP has been hinting at the possibility of an alliance with the AAP and had also sent feelers of a possible alliance with the BSP after Mayawati’s snub to the INLD.
Requesting anonymity, an AAP leader said that if an alliance of AAP, JJP and BSP matures, then it can be better considering the prevalent caste-centric politics in the state,”. “Such an alliance may woo votes of Jats, Dalits and non-Jats as we would have leaders from all communities”.
AAP has high hopes in Haryana because of the state’s close proximity to the national capital. However, the party failed to taste success in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections when it fielded candidates for all the 10 Lok Sabha constituencies and all of them lost their security deposit. The AAP got just 4.2% votes in Haryana, which was less than the vote share of BSP’s 4.6%. AAP candidates were on fourth place in half of the 10 constituencies. Yogendra Yadav emerged its best performer in Haryana securing about 80,000 votes in Gurgaon. He later formed a new political outfit, Swaraj India. AAP did not contest the 2014 assembly elections in Haryana.
Kejriwal rally on February 17
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will speak at a rally in Gohana town of Sonipat district on February 17. Seen as a show of strength of the AAP in Haryana ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, it will be held five days after the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public meeting in Kurukshetra town.
