Congress' no-confidence motion against BJP-JJP govt in Haryana defeated

30 members of Congress and two Independents, who had earlier withdrawn support, backed the motion

In sharp contrast to Uttarakhand, where the BJP had to go for a change of guard to keep its flock together, Haryana lived up to its record of stability and continuity with BJP's Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar comfortably defeating a motion of no confidence brought against the ruling combine by the Opposition Congress.

Khattar government defeated the motion with 55 members of the Assembly voting against the motion and 32 members from the Opposition camp backing it despite rumblings in NDA's new ally JJP headed by Dushyant Chautala, who was under pressure from his MLAs over the on-going farm protests.

While in Uttarakhand no Chief Minister barring Congress' N D Tiwari completed a full term, Haryana came out of this phase of instability in 2000 and all its Chief Ministers starting from Om Prakash Chautala (one full term after two short terms in past), Bhupinder Singh Hooda (two-term) and Khattar (now in second term) completed their stints without much hitch.

Before warding off the crisis of sorts, the Haryana Chief Minister had expressed confidence tweeting "If the Opposition keeps its flock together, this in itself is a big thing. There is no problem here. The no-trust motion being brought against the government will definitely fall."

The motion was defeated in a division of votes carried out on the floor of the assembly after a six-hour long discussion. Along with 39 MLAs BJP and 10 of ally JJP, the alliance government also got the votes of five Independents and one legislator from Haryana Lokhit Party headed by Gopal Kanda, a businessman turned politician who had courted many a controversy in past and had helped Congress' Hooda to muster support to form a government in the state after 2009 state polls.

The strength of the Assembly is 90 and hence the BJP got nine more than the required majority number of 46.

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Those who backed the no trust motion this time included 30 members of Congress and two Independents, who had earlier withdrawn support from the government.

There was no breach in the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), whose legislators had earlier voiced discomfiture with the party's support to the BJP government despite the on-going farm protest. BJP and JJP had earlier issued a whip to their legislators to be present in the assembly.

Leader of Opposition Hooda slammed the government saying the ruling dispensation has lost people's trust and spoke at length over the on-going farm protests. He also sought the inclusion of nearly 250 farmers, who have died during their ongoing agitation, in the obituary references of the Haryana Assembly. Congress leaders asked MLAs from JJP, who had fought the last Assembly poll against BJP candidates to listen to the voice of the inner conscience and support the no-confidence motion.

On Tuesday JJP MLA Devender Singh Babli had said while he stands with protesting farmers, he alone can not take a decision. Babli and some others in JJP were in favour of the party withdrawing support from the government. They had flagged to Chautala that the ruling party legislators facing opposition from farmers in villages is not a good sign.

Another JJP MLA Ram Kumar Gautam had earlier suggested that a resolution should be passed by MLAs that the laws be put on hold for three years and two months till the current term of the NDA government at the Centre is over. Yet another JJP leader Jogi Ram Sihag's demand was that the Haryana government frame a law on the minimum support price (MSP). He had earlier backed the farm protest.

Congress, which had declared open support to on-going farmer protests, wants to breach the farmer base of JJP, whose leader Dushyant Chautala is the great-grandson of former Prime Minister and well-known farmer leader Devi Lal. Lal's son Om Prakash Chautala created a big base for INLD among farmers in Haryana but the family feud and corruption cases later took a toll on the party, leading to the formation of a breakaway group JJP headed by Dushyant Chautala.

A day before the trust vote, Hooda said, "the no-confidence motion will let people know which MLA stands with the government and which MLA stands with farmers." Haryana is a farmer dominant state, which contributes to nearly 15 per cent of total farm produce in the country despite having only 1.5 per cent of the country's geographical area.