BJP will now have to look for 'jugad' to form government in Haryana: MP CM Kamal Nath

Bhopal: With Haryana verdict throwing a hung assembly and the ruling BJP failing to get a clear majority, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and veteran Congress leader Kamal Nath has taken a dig at the saffron party and said that it will now have to look for 'jugad' to form the new government in the state.

The MP Chief Minister further stated that the ruling BJP and the Manohar Lal Khattar government has been clearly rejected by the people of Haryana.

"In Haryana, the BJP did not get a majority. BJP leaders should accept that they have been rejected by people. Now, they will do `jugaad` with other parties and independents. They will form the government, but people will not forget it," said Kamal while addressing a presser here. 

#WATCH Madhya Pradesh CM, Kamal Nath in Bhopal: In Haryana they didn't get majority, BJP leaders should accept that they have been rejected by people. Now they will do 'jugaad' with other parties & independents, they will form government, but people will not forget it. (24.10.19) pic.twitter.com/WSlabtAmNt — ANI (@ANI) October 24, 2019

In Haryana, the ruling BJP emerged as the single largest party by winning 40 seats, but fell short of the halfway mark by 5 seats.

The Congress, on the other hand, showed significant progress from its performance in the last Assembly elections by winning 31 seats. It had got 15 in the 2014 Assembly polls.

The BJP got 36.49 per cent votes, while the Congress bagged 28.08 per cent votes. Dushyant Chautala's Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) – a new entrant in the Haryana politics - was victorious in 10 constituencies, making it a possible 'kingmaker', along with 7 Independents.

The INLD, which ruled the state for four times, managed to win just one seat.

The outcome of the Assembly polls held on October 21 is a setback for the BJP, which had won 47 seats in the last state elections in 2014 and had been expressing confidence about raising its tally beyond 75 this time, using the nationalist pitch of abolition of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and Balakot airstrike.

The results came as a shocker for the saffron party, particularly since it had won all the 10 seats in the Lok Sabha elections held just five months back. The Congress had failed to open account in the April-May Lok Sabha elections.

The BJP had formed the government in Haryana for the first time in 2014, when it improved its tally from four in the previous elections.

The INLD, which ruled the state the last time from 2000 to 2004, stood second with 19 seats in the last Assembly elections and was the main Opposition party in the outgoing House.

The JJP was formed in December last year after Dushyant Chautala, grandson of four-time Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, split from the INLD following a bitter fight in the family. The Congress has already begun efforts to woo JJP leader Dushyant Chautala but he has refused to spell out his future course of action, saying it will be decided after the party`s meeting on Friday.

In Maharashtra, where 288 seats are at stake, the BJP won 104 seats and was leading in 1 more as of midnight. Its ally Shiv Sena won 56 seats, taking their combined lead tally to 161 seats.

From the Opposition camp, the Congress won 43 seats and was leading in one more while its alliance partner Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) ended up with 54 seats. Going by the results and trends, the BJP`s tally is lesser by 17 seats compared to its performance in the last Assembly elections held in 2014 when it got 122 seats. Shiv Sena had 63 seats last time.

The NCP improved its performance significantly as it had got 41 seats in the last Assembly elections when the Congress had got 42 seats.

(With Agency inputs)