NEW DELHI: After its break-up with its oldest partner Shiv Sena in Maharashtra over government formation in the state, the Bharatiya Janata Party is now facing a rocky relationship with its allies in poll-bound Jharkhand and Delhi. The BJP on Saturday formed a government in Maharashtra with the support of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
The schedule for Assembly polls in Delhi has not been announced yet; polls to the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly will be held from 30 November to 20 December.
Sources have confirmed that Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), BJP’s alliance partner, has put forward its demand to contest on 7-8 seats out of Delhi Assembly’s total 70 seats and the party is not willing to compromise with anything less than this.
“Given Delhi’s demography, the presence of Punjabi voters where the SAD has its roots can’t be ignored. Therefore, Akali leaders have put forward their demand for a larger share of seats in Delhi. If their demands are not met, the party will not shy away from going solo to contest on more seats in Delhi,” a source close to SAD told The Sunday Guardian.
Sources also confirmed that the SAD is annoyed with the BJP over its activities in Haryana where the BJP allowed a lone SAD legislator’s entry in its fold. The SAD had gone solo to contest the recently concluded Haryana Assembly polls. “SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal has already expressed his discomfort to BJP leaders and has asked to keep the trust of the alliance alive,” the same source cited above said. SAD’s lone MLA from Kalanwali Balkaur Singh had joined the BJP.
BJP is also facing an alliance crisis in Jharkhand, where its three alliance partners—All Jharkhand Students’ Union (AJSU), Lok Janashakti Party (LJP) and Janata Dal United (JDU)—have left the BJP’s side and are going to contest the state Assembly polls alone. BJP is JDU’s alliance partner in Bihar. Ramvilas Paswan’s LJP shares Cabinet birth in the BJP-led Central government.
Although senior JDU leaders have said that the decision to contest Jharkhand’s Assembly polls alone is part of the party’s expansion plan, observers say that the BJP and JDU now have a rocky relationship in Bihar. Nitish Kumar is not leaving any opportunity that may offer greater bargaining capacity to the JDU, say observers.