The Congress party in Haryana has decided to bring a no-confidence motion against the BJP-led government in the state. Former Haryana CM, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, has stated that the Congress party will bring a no-confidence motion against the state government. “We will bring a no-confidence motion after the Governor’s Address in the assembly. The Congress will also bring a private member bill to demand amendment to the APMC Act by adding guarantee of the MSP for farmers’ benefit,” Hooda said.
This no-confidence motion is being brought to put Dushyant Chautala, president of Jannayak Janata Party which has 10 MLAs and is supporting the BJP-led government, in a spot. The budget session of the Haryana Legislative Assembly is set to begin at the start of the next month, and Congress is trying to ensure that BJP led government falls with the defection of Chautala-led JJP.
Now it is a big dilemma for Chautala because if he does not vote in support of the BJP, the government would fall, and his party would go out of power. Given the fact that his party is new, being in power is crucial for its survival. Indian National Lok Dal, with which Chautala traces his roots, has been out of power between 1999 to 2014 and it was erased out of public memory with little presence in some pockets. Chautala knows very well that going out of the government means an existential crisis for him as well as his newly formed party.
But, if he continues to support BJP, he might lose support of the protesting farmers, and this would also not bode well for his party. Moreover, many of his party’s MLAs might jump the ship or resign in order to retain the farmers support, and this would be a huge dent for the party’s prospects.
However, given the astute politician that the 32-year-old Chautala is, he will probably manage to sail through this instead of falling for Congress. Previously, after no party won a majority in the legislative assembly election, Congress tried to woo Dushyant Chautala and even offered him CM chair, but Chautala chooses to go with the BJP because he knew that a government with Congress party would be unstable. And, in the long-term, Congress would eat up the voter base of the JJP because both parties target the votes of the same community.
In the 2019 Haryana Assembly Elections, BJP fell short of a majority by 6 seats and formed the government in alliance with the Dushyant Chautala-led JJP which has 10 seats in an assembly of 90.
Congress, led by Bhupinder Singh Hooda, won 31 seats- 16 more than the 2014 Assembly Elections. However, given the fact that 46 seats are needed for the government in the state, Hooda’s dream of bagging the CM chair could not be realized. But the party sees the farmers’ protests as a golden opportunity to destabilize the BJP-led government in the state, and thus, the BKU leaders could be seen holding placards criticising Dushyant Chautala for allying with BJP.
Dushyant Chautala, who is under pressure to break the alliance with the BJP over the farmers issue, had maintained strategic silence for the last few months and made statements only when it was necessary. For example, he told his MLAs and constituents that he will leave the BJP if MSP is not given, and given the fact that the state as well as the union government has continued to give MSP, he supports the government.
The farmers’ protest is going on for the last six months, and there have been many attempts by the Congress to break his MLAs, but Chautala has been able to bridge the internal differences in the party and has continued to support the BJP led government instead of falling for the Congress party. Given his diplomatic skills, he will be able to sail through this, too.