BJP to join INLD govt in Haryana
From Ravi S. Singh
Tribune News Service

GURGAON, Oct 12 — The Bharatiya Janata Party is understood to have accepted a proposal of the ruling Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) in Haryana to be part of the government in the state. In effect the BJP is now ready to be a coalition partner in the government.

According to sources, members of the BJP will be inducted into the council of ministers in the next expansion of the cabinet.

The Chief Minister of Haryana, Mr Om Prakash Chautala is said to be strongly in favour of expanding his cabinet by next Friday. October 14 and October 18 are the two dates being discussed at the top level for the exercise.

Six BJP MLAs are tipped to find a berth in the Council of Ministers. They include Prof Ram Bilas Sharma, Prof Ganeshi Lal, Dr Kamla Verma and Mr Suraj Pal — all of them were ministers of cabinet rank in the preceding HVP-BJP government headed by Mr Bansi Lal.

The INLD quarters are keen that the BJP become a member of the government at the earliest to dispel any speculation about its stability.

After the fall of the Bansi Lal government and the subsequent coming to power by the INLD in Haryana, the BJP had decided to extend support from outside. as part of a well-thought-out political strategy. By keeping out of the government the party hoped to scotch any impression that it was power hungry after it pulled the rug from under the feet of the Bansi Lal regime with which it shared power for about three years. Second, by not being part of the government, it would be in a position to keep the ruling INLD on tenter hooks and bargain a decent number of seats in the INLD-BJP alliance for the just concluded Lok Sabha elections.

During negotiations between the two parties for allotment of seats, reports had said that the INLD was willing to give only three seats.

But Chief Minister and INLD Chief, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, finally relented on five seats.

Also, the BJP is said to be happy with the functioning of the INLD government thus far, especially on the issue of abolition of the octroi, a series of concessions announced and the transfers and postings of senior administrative and police officers.

The BJP quarters feel that almost all the decisions and moves of the present government have subserved the interests of the party. Hence, the BJP can now be part of the government without any qualms, especially now after the INLD-BJP combine exceptional showing in the Lok Sabha polls. The BJP and the INLD won five seats each.