The Haryana cabinet on Friday recommended dissolution of the assembly, which governor Jagannath Pahadia accepted. This paves the way for elections in the state to coincide with assembly polls in Maharashtra.
The term of the present House was originally scheduled to expire in February. Chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has been asked to continue as caretaker chief minister.
In the 90-member House, the Congress has 67 members, Indian National Lok Dal nine, BJP has two, BSP one and there are 11 independents.
Hooda decided to advance the assembly election as the party is riding the crest of popularity after an overwhelming show in the last Lok Sabha elections when the Congress won nine of the 10 parliamentary seats.
Even Hisar, where the Congress lost, the margin of victory was a slender one, just 7,000 votes. Before recommending dissolution, the cabinet took some populist decisions, like regularising unauthorised colonies.
There were ample indications in the last assembly session that this might as well be the last session of the present House. The chief minister had extended many a concession to various sections of society as a goodwill gesture to voters.
Besides the popularity wave, another factor that has driven the party to go for early elections is the adverse impact of bad monsoons, which can be offset by advancing the elections dates.
The ruling Congress is also emboldened by the fact that many senior leaders from the rival Chautala camp have joined the Congress, indicating that the opposition was in disarray.
Though both the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and BJP have decided to continue with their alliance, Hooda sees no threat from them in view of their poor performance in the Lok Sabha elections. For INLD leader Om Parkash Chautala, the polls would not only decide his political future but also shape the future course of state politics.
