India News | JJP Faces Severe Drubbing in Lok Sabha Polls; Challenging Times Ahead

Chandigarh, Jun 4 (PTI) The Jannayak Janta Party was not expected to spring any surprise or cause an upset in the Lok Sabha polls, but its severe drubbing has come at a time when the Haryana assembly elections are just four months away.

The party, which was born after a vertical split in the parent outfit Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) in December 2018 owing to a family feud, saw sudden rise in its graph and abrupt decline once its alliance with the BJP ended in March this year.

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Many of the JJP leaders, including its state unit chief Nishan Singh, had left the party after a tie-up with the ruling BJP ended following the BJP effecting a change in its leadership, replacing Manohar Lal Khattar as chief minister with Nayab Singh Saini.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the JJP had fielded candidates on all 10 seats, but they received severe drubbing and even lost their security deposits.

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Among the candidates, the JJP had fielded its sitting MLA Naina Chautala from Hisar.

With the Haryana assembly polls over four months away, challenging times lie ahead for the JJP.

In the 2019 assembly polls, the JJP led by Ajay Singh Chautala had emerged as a kingmaker when the BJP fell short of majority and had to depend on it. The had won 10 seats and helped form the government in Haryana.

Twenty six-year-old US-educated Dushyant Chautala, who comes from the Jat community, made some quick moves and extended support to the BJP, which later formed the government after tie-up with the JJP and support of the Independents.

To ensure smooth running of the government, Dushyant, however, had to do the balancing act as his support base was against the BJP.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the JJP then fought on seven seats, leaving three for the Aam Aadmi Party. However, neither failed to open account.

The BJP made a clean sweep on all the 10 parliamentary constituencies in the state in 2019 and Dushyant lost his own Hisar seat.

To highlight farmers' concerns, Dushyant once drove a tractor to Parliament, but few years later in 2020-2021, the Congress and other rivals accused him of being power hungry and not standing with the farmers' cause.

Days after his party's alliance with the BJP ended in Haryana in March 2024, Dushyant Chautala had said he always kept the interests of the state supreme and worked with complete honesty to fulfil the coalition dharma.

Chautala had said that the JJP's vision was clear to take Haryana ahead while being in alliance.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)