BJP, Congress's fate in hands of JJP's Dushyant Chautala?

Congress's performance in the state makes senior leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda emerge stronger. Pic/PTI

Chandigarh: The results of the Haryana assembly elections may have settled the debate on the legacy of former deputy prime minister and Jat stalwart Devi Lal in the favour of his great-grandson Dushyant Chautala.

As Haryana on Thursday delivered a hung assembly with the ruling BJP emerging as the largest party with 40 seats, but still six short of the halfway mark (46) needed to form the next government. The Congress won 31 seats, Haryana Lokhit Party one each and the AAP, which contested 46 seats, was decimated.

And Dushyant's months-old Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) won 10 seats, pitching him into the kingmaker's role. The parent Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), headed by Dushyant's grandfather Om Prakash Chautala and uncle Abhay Chautala has been trumped by the breakaway party. With just one seat in its kitty, INLD slumped to its worst performance ever on Thursday.

Dushyant Chautala. Pic/Facebook

Barring Abhay retaining his Ellenabad seat, over 80 candidates had to bite the dust. Dushyant Chautala, 31, has now emerged as a leader of some reckoning in the Jat community, as well among Haryana's youth.

Congress doubles tally
The Congress may be far away from the halfway mark in Haryana, but the party's performance in the state polls has made former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda emerge stronger. Notably, Hooda retained his stronghold Garhi Sampla-Kiloi in Rohtak with a margin of 58,213 votes. With this win, Hooda now has nine victories under his belt, including one against former deputy prime minister Devi Lal in the Lok Sabha polls.

Hooda has been chief minister twice and an MP four times. This time, the BJP fielded against him Satish Nandal, a former Rohtak district unit chief of INLD, who switched sides earlier this year.

BJP's 8 ministers lose

Though Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar retained his Karnal seat defeating his nearest Congress rival Tarlochan Singh by a margin of 45,188 votes, eight ministers from the party lost. The minister who lost the elections are Ram Bilas Sharma (Mahendragarh), Capt Abhimanyu (Narnaund), Om Prakash Dhankar (Badli), Kavita Jain (Sonipat), Krishan Lal Panwar (Israna), Manish Kumar Grover (Rohtak), Krishan Kumar Bedi (Shahbad), and Karan Dev Kamboj (Radaur).

While the BJP's vote share dropped to 36.5 per cent, the Congress vote share is up nearly eight percentage points since 2014. The Congress is adopting a wait-and-watch approach and has kept its post-poll options open in Haryana. It is seeking to put together a grand alliance. Congress leaders are in talks with some independents as well as the JJP. However, sources said Dushyant Chautala's JJP was in touch with both Congress and BJP.

Meanwhile, BJP parliamentary board authorised party chief Amit Shah on Thursday to take all decisions regarding government formation in Haryana and Maharashtra. Party sources said there will be no change in chief ministers of any state, a decision on expected lines.

40
No. of seats the BJP won

31
No. of seats Cong bagged

90
Total no. of seats in the Haryana assembly

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