CHANDIGARH, July 11: The Indian National Lok Dal has decided to again join hands with its former ally Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) for the Haryana Assembly polls due later this year, the leaders of the two parties announced on Thursday.
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Alliance leaders have also decided to project (INLD) leader Abhay Chautala as its Chief Ministerial face.
Under the arrangement, out of 90 Assembly seats in Haryana, the BSP will contest 37 seats leaving the rest for its senior partner in Haryana, where the ruling BJP is eyeing to come to power for third time in a row.
Addressing a joint press conference with the BSP at Nayagaon on the outskirts of Chandigarh, Chautala asserted that the alliance is not based on any selfish interests, but has been formed keeping in mind people’s feelings.
“In Haryana, we have decided to jointly fight the upcoming Assembly elections. Today, the feeling of common people is to oust from power the BJP, which is looting the State, and keep the Congress party at bay, which looted the State for 10 years earlier,” Chautala said.
BSP national coordinator Akash Anand said recently BSP supremo Mayawati and Chautala held a detailed meeting regarding firming up of the alliance.
“In that meeting, it had been decided that out of 90 Assembly seats in Haryana, the BSP will contest on 37 seats while the rest will be fought by the INLD,” he said.
Anand said that if alliance comes to power in the State, Chautala will be made Chief Minister.
This alliance will not be limited to fighting Assembly polls only and we will fight other elections in the State jointly in the future, Anand said.
Soon after the announcement, Mayawati said in a post on X that the BSP and INLD will work together to defeat anti-people parties and form a new coalition Government.
“Bahujan Samaj Party and Indian National Lok Dal will fight the upcoming Assembly elections in Haryana together with the resolve to defeat the anti-people parties and form a new coalition Government, which was announced in a joint press conference in Chandigarh today with my full blessings,” she said.
“Before the press conference of INLD’s principal general secretary Abhay Singh Chautala and BSP’s Anand Kumar, national coordinator Akash Anand and party’s State in-charge Randhir Beniwal today, successful talks were held between the two parties at my residence in New Delhi regarding the alliance,” she said. (PTI)
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