The Bharatiya Janata Party will contest all 90 seats in the Haryana Assembly on its own, Union Education Minister and party leader Dharmendra Pradhan said on Saturday, The Indian Express reported.
The Assembly election in the state is expected to be held in October.
Ahead of a party meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday in Haryana, Pradhan, who is also the election in-charge for the state, told reporters that “the BJP will go solo and form a majority government on its own strength”.
In 2019, the BJP had formed a post-poll alliance with the Jannayak Janta Party and seven Independent MLAs.
The parties snapped ties in March, ahead of the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections.
Subsequently, BJP leader Manohar Lal Khattar resigned as chief minister and his party colleague Nayab Singh Saini was sworn in to replace him after the party crossed the majority mark.
In the current 90-member House, the BJP has 41 MLAs and the support of one independent MLA along with a lone legislator of the Haryana Lokhit Party. A party or coalition needs 46 seats to stay in power. The Assembly currently has a strength of 88 MLAs.
Responding to a question about why the BJP replaced the chief minister, Pradhan on Saturday said that it was up to the party to decide who would be given responsibilities, The Indian Express reported.
On another question about the results of the recent Lok Sabha election, Pradhan said that the BJP was “all set to return to power with a majority in Haryana”.
In the general election, the BJP and the Congress won five seats each in the state. The Hindutva party had won all 10 seats in 2019.
“For any government in power, people have expectations and it becomes the government’s responsibility to live up to those expectations,” Pradhan said. “We are very sure that people of this state will choose the BJP for the third time.”
He added: “These days, people want stability and development.”
Pradhan’s remarks came two days after Jannayak Janta Party leader Dushyant Chautala ruled out the possibility of realigning with the BJP in the Assembly election.
Chautala also said that his party was ready to support a Congress candidate in the election to a Rajya Sabha seat in the state.
The seat in the Upper House of Parliament fell vacant after Congress leader Deepender Singh Hooda won the Rohtak Lok Sabha seat in the general elections.
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