Mayawati's BSP likely to tie-up with rebel BJP MP RK Saini's LSP in Haryana; INLD's drub show in Jind bypoll likely trigger

Chandigarh: The Haryana unit of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) indicated on Friday that the party could end its nearly 10-month-old alliance with the INLD and tie-up with a party floated by rebel BJP parliamentarian RK Saini.

“A decision regarding our alliance with the INLD has been taken. A formal announcement will be made soon. We have decided to forge a tie-up with Mr Saini’s party,” state BSP president Prakash Bharti said.

The development comes over a week after the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) suffered a humiliating defeat at the hustings in the Jind bypoll, which was won by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

Saini, a rebel Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Kurukshetra had last year floated the Loktantra Suraksha Party and the candidate fielded by him in the Jind by-election had put up a better performance than INLD’s Umed Singh Redhu. The INLD party split last November amid the ongoing family feud in the Chautala family.

“We have communicated our stand on alliance to Abhay Singh Chautala and Ashok Arora (INLD state unit chief),” Bharti said.

The BSP had on Monday hinted that it might call off its alliance with the INLD — led by Om Prakash Chautala, who is serving a jail term in connection with a teachers-recruitment scam.

Senior INLD leaders were not available for comments.

The INLD and the BSP had entered into an alliance last April and decided to jointly fight the 2019 Lok Sabha and Assembly polls.

INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala had on Wednesday rejected reports that his party’s alliance with the BSP was under strain.