INLD And BSP Announce Alliance For Haryana Assembly Elections

In Haryana, the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have officially declared an alliance. Both parties will contest the Haryana Assembly elections in October, with a seat-sharing arrangement already announced. INLD General Secretary Abhay Chautala and BSP National Coordinator Akash Anand made the announcement in Chandigarh, with Chautala leading the alliance.

Haryana has 90 Assembly seats. INLD will contest 53 seats, while BSP will contest 37 seats. During the announcement, Chautala asserted that their alliance aims to form a non-BJP and non-Congress government after the Assembly polls. Akash Anand confirmed that Abhay Chautala would be the Chief Ministerial candidate for the alliance.

This marks the third time INLD and BSP have formed an electoral alliance in Haryana. Their first collaboration was in 1996. In the 1998 Lok Sabha elections, they contested three seats together and won one.

On July 6, Abhay Chautala met BSP leader Mayawati in Lucknow to finalise the alliance. INLD state president Rampal Majra commented on this meeting, stating, "All non-BJP and non-Congress parties should unite and strengthen the hands of Abhay Chautala, who is pro-farmer and pro-labour." He also claimed that "many parties are already in touch with us."

In the 2019 Haryana Assembly elections, BSP fielded candidates on 87 out of 90 seats and secured 4.14% of the votes. INLD contested 81 seats but managed only 2.44% of the votes.

The two parties had earlier joined forces in 2018 when INLD was Haryana's main opposition party. However, their alliance dissolved in February 2019 before both Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. This period saw internal strife within the Chautala family, leading to Ajay Singh Chautala and his son Dushyant Chautala forming the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP).

Impact on Political Landscape

The performance of both parties in previous elections suggests their alliance may not significantly alter Haryana's political landscape. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, BSP contested nine out of ten seats while INLD contested seven; neither party won any seats. The BSP garnered only 1.28% of votes, while INLD received 1.74%.

The new political equation could pose challenges for Congress more than BJP in specific constituencies. Chautala's party relies heavily on the Jat vote bank, whereas BSP's strength lies with Dalit voters. In recent Lok Sabha elections, these votes largely favoured Congress in Haryana.

This alliance aims to create a non-BJP and non-Congress government in Haryana by leveraging their combined voter bases. However, given their past electoral performances, it remains uncertain how much impact they will have on the state's political dynamics.