In a surprise move, BSP chief Mayawati has joined hands with Haryana Janhit Congress chief and three-time chief minister Bhajan Lal for the assembly election in the state early next year.
Bhajan Lal and son Kuldip Vishnoi were present at a press conference addressed by the Uttar Pradesh (UP) chief minister here on Thursday.
The decision surprised many in political circles because after an alliance with the Congress in the 1996 UP assembly election, Mayawati had refrained from alliances or understandings in subsequent elections.
The BSP contested 438 seats alone in the recent Lok Sabha election.
“The vote share our parties have got in Haryana is enough to form the government there once we contest together,” Mayawati said. She announced that in the event of this new combine winning, Kuldip Vishnoi would be appointed Haryana CM, while the deputy CM would be a scheduled caste leader from the BSP.
Mayawati said the BSP would contest 40 of the 90 assembly seats in Haryana, leaving the bigger chunk for Bhajan Lal’s party.
Interestingly, the two parties have already worked out a seat-sharing formula for the next Lok Sabha election, too.
