"We Support BJP," Say Haryana Independents After Meetings | Read

After Haryana delivered a hung verdict in elections, action has shifted to Delhi as the BJP, which emerged as the largest party but fell short of a majority, tries to win over a group of independent MLAs. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, in Delhi to meet BJP chief JP Nadda, said he was optimistic about forming the government soon. Mr Nadda and BJP's Haryana in-charge Anil Jain met with Home Minister Amit Shah in a late night meeting that continued into the early hours of Friday. The BJP, which set itself a target of 75 seats in the 90-member Haryana Assembly, ended up with 40 seats and has been forced to negotiate with independents like controversial MLA Gopal Kanda, to reach the majority mark of 46. Gopal Kanda today said six MLAs, including himself, were ready to offer "unconditional support" to the BJP. The Congress, with 31 seats, has reached out to Dushyant Chautala's Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) for an alliance, but it will need more than JJP's 10 MLAs to score a majority.