This Article is From Aug 28, 2014

BJP's Ally in Haryana Kuldeep Bishnoi Calls it Off, Alleging 'Serial Betrayal'

BJP's Ally in Haryana Kuldeep Bishnoi Calls it Off, Alleging 'Serial Betrayal'

File photo of Haryana Janhit Congress leader Kuldeep Bishnoi

New Delhi: Just weeks ahead of the election in Haryana, the BJP has been left without an ally, a result that is unlikely to cause it sleepless nights. Accusing the party of being "a serial betrayer," Kuldeep Bishnoi ended his three-year partnership with the BJP, which swept to power in the national election in May.

Mr Bishnoi, whose father Bhajan Lal was a regional powerhouse and Chief Minister of Haryana, married pique with drama in several statements today, claiming, for example, that "The BJP tried to strangle me at every stage."

What is apparent is that for months, the BJP had tried to distance itself from Mr Bishnoi and his Haryana Janhit Congress or HJC.

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched an important road project in the state last week, Mr Bishnoi was not invited.  The 46-year-old was also missing from every major rally that Mr Modi addressed in Haryana for the national election, in which the BJP scored an emphatic victory, winning seven seats. In contrast, Mr Bishnoi's party lost the two seats it contested. He lost his own constituency to a 26-year-old candidate.

That left him without much bargaining power for the assembly elections, due soon. Haryana is one of the few states where the Congress is in power. The BJP is reportedly keen of contesting all 90 assembly seats; Mr Bishnoi wanted half of those for his party, and was lobbying to be declared the alliance's chief ministerial candidate.

Both prospects were unappealing for the BJP, which hopes the "Modi wave" that swept the country in May will hold good for the Haryana election. BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain described Mr Bishnoi's party as "the Congress' B-team."

"That's why they've snapped ties. We've never betrayed anyone," he said.

Mr Bishnoi says his party will ally with the new party launched by Venod Sharma, who quit the Congress ahead of the national election.
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