Haryana MLA Devender Singh Babli, Two Others, Join BJP Ahead Of Polls

Three MLAs from Haryana - among them Jannayak Janata Party leader Devender Singh Babli - have joined the BJP, as the ruling party is out to bolster its ranks ahead of the upcoming state elections. All three are leaders from the Jat community, among which the BJP intends to expand its footprint after its bitter break-up with the JJP ahead of the Lok Sabha election.

Devender Singh Babli, who represented Tohana in the state assembly, was a minister in the government headed by former chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar. He was the second JJP minister in the Khattar government - the other being JJP chief Dushyant Singh Chautala.

There is speculation that the BJP might reward him with a ticket in the polls.

There were reports that Mr Singh was initially keen on joining Congress, but the state Congress could not assure him that he would be fielded from Tohana. Several other leaders of the party have been eyeing the seat. 

Two other leaders, Sunil Sangwan, whose father Satpal Sangwan is a former Haryana minister, and Sanjay Kablana, have also joined the BJP.

All three joined the BJP in presence of its general secretary Arun Singh, former Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb and Haryana unit president Mohan Lal Badoli.

The BJP, Mr Singh said, is driven by the mindset of development and exuded confidence that the party will return to power for a third term. A pro-BJP mood prevails in Haryana, he added.

The defection of Devender Singh Babli has left Dushyant Chautala with just three of his 10 MLAs. That includes him and his mother, Naina Chautala.  The third is Amarjeet Singh Dhanda, the MLA from Julana.

Ram Niwas Surjakhera's attempt to change camp got blocked after rape allegations were levelled against him.

Mr Chautala appeared unfazed by the defection and posted a short poem on X, formerly Twitter, which roughly translates as: 

First they said they would cross 400,
Now they are taking leaders on loan from the JJP,
Sitting in Delhi, they are waiting.
They can't even find 90 candidates
Their leaders are hunting in the assembly
No victory in Karnal, defeat in Ladwa too,
Just let October 5 come this time,
After that they are out forever.

In the recently concluded Lok Sabha election, the Congress got the maximum Jat and Dalit votes. The farmers, who have been on a protest mode against the BJP, had en masse supported the non-BJP parties. The Congress had won the Jat-dominated seats of Rohtak, Sonipat and Hissar. 

The anti-BJP mood had also hit the JJP, which had a wide voter base among the JAt farmers. It was a key factor in the BJP-JJP split.

The Congress is now confident of a replay. The JJP and INLD meanwhile, are forging alliance with Dalit- dominated parties, hoping for a change in fortune. 

The Congress, though, had won the two Scheduled Caste dominated seats of Ambala and Sirsa. 

The BJP had only won the seats that are in urban areas or dominated by Other Backward Classes -- Gurugram, Faridabad, Bhiwani Mahendargarh, Karnal, Kurukshetra.

Haryana goes to polls on October 5. The counting of votes will take place on October 8.