Dushyant Chautala is all set to play kingmaker in Haryana.
Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) chief Dushyant Chautala, who may turn kingmaker as Haryana heads for a hung assembly, today said he will discuss his future course of action with party MLAs as soon as he has the Election Commission's "victory certificate" in hand.
The meeting with MLAs, he said, will happen on Friday.
"Slips from a VVPAT machine is still underway. As soon as I get the certificate, I will hold a meeting with MLAs tomorrow and decide the future course of action. It is too early to say which party we will side with. But I believe that the state wants change, and the JJP will bring it," news agency ANI quoted Mr Chautala as saying.
As per official trends reported by the Election Commission, the BJP has won 30 seats and is leading in another 10 across the state. The Congress, on the other hand, has won 24 seats and is leading in seven. If the election results throw up a hung assembly, the 10 seats won by Mr Chautala's party will help it emerge as the kingmaker in the state.
The JJP leader had indicated just as much earlier in the day. "I believe the key (to the next government) lies in the hands of the JJP," he said, indicating that he is just as good at wordplay as politics. The key is the JJP's election symbol.
According to reports, the Congress has even offered Mr Chautala the Chief Minister's post if they could join hands to keep the BJP out of power. However, the JJP leader has denied holding discussions in this regard with the party.
Ironically, the party did not even exist until a year ago. It was born in December 2018, when Dushyant Chautala - a California State University graduate and the great grandson of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal - walked out of the Indian National Lok Dal along with his followers amid infighting in the Chautala clan.
(With inputs from ANI)