Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Mayawati meet, may join hands in Haryana

Chandigarh: Speculations are rife over a pre-poll alliance between the Congress and the BSP in Haryana after a closed-door meeting between two-time former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Mayawati in New Delhi, party insiders said on Monday. The meeting that lasted for over half an hour on Sunday night saw the presence of newly-appointed state Congress President Kumari Selja, too.

Both the parties may have an understanding to jointly contest the elections for the 90 Assembly seats in the BJP-ruled state. The polls are slated for October. The meeting was in the backdrop of Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati withdrawing pre-poll alliance last week with the Indian National Lok Dal's (INLD) breakaway faction Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), led by Dushyant Chautala, the grandson of O.P. Chautala. The JJP had offered 40 seats to the BSP, which it refused.

Announcing the decision to end the alliance, Mayawati said the agreement reached with Chautala was "inappropriate" in terms of the proposed seat-sharing formula. Sounding a poll budge, Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a public meeting in Rohtak on Sunday not only presented his government's report card in the first 100 days of governance but also praised the Manohar Lal Khattar-led government for fighting corruption and nepotism.

While the main opposition -- the INLD -- has been reduced to a minority as most of its legislators and leaders have joined the BJP, infighting continues to dog the Congress, which ruled the state for two consecutive terms till 2014. Khattar, the first-time legislator, is the first BJP Chief Minister of the state and aims at improving the party's tally in this election in the Assembly from 48 legislators.