Haryana govt, led by Nayab Saini, loses majority in assembly: What happens next? Can Congress oust BJP?

The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Haryana government faced a major setback with three Independent MLAs withdrawing their support from the ruling party. With three MLAs not supporting the Nayab Singh Saini-led government, the BJP in the state now has the support of at least three Independent MLAs, down from six earlier.

The three MLAs – Sombir Sangwan (Charkhi Dadri), Randhir Golan (Pundri),and Dharampal Gondar (Nilokheri) – said on Tuesday they have decided to withdraw the support from the Saini government. They have now extended their support to the Congress amid the Lok Sabha Elections 2024.

The development came amid the Lok Sabha polls and within two months of Nayab Singh Saini taking over as Chief Minister of Haryana after replacing Manohar Lal Khattar.

Is the Haryana government under threat now? Will the Congress be able to topple the BJP government in Haryana? What happens next? Here's a deep dive into Haryana's political situation:

How numbers stack up in Haryana Assembly?

There are 90 MLAs in the Haryana assembly. Here's what the current party position in the state assembly is like:

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP): 40 MLAs (after Manohar Lal Khattar had resigned as MLA and CM in March 2024)

Independent: 7 MLAs

Jannayak Janta Party (JJP): 10 MLAs

Congress: 30 MLAs

Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP): 1 MLA

Indian National Lok Dal (INLD): 1 MLA

Is the BJP-led Haryana government in crisis?

The Haryana assembly has 90 members. A political party needs the support of 46 MLAs to cross the halfway mark in the Haryana assembly and form a government in the state.

Now, the current party position in the assembly shows that the BJP has 40 MLAs. The Haryana BJP has the support of the lone Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP) MLA and at least three independent MLAs (earlier, it had six independent MLAs in support).

In total, the ruling BJP has the support of 44 MLAs – just two short of crossing the halfway mark. Even with one less MLA, the BJP won't be able to form government in the state.

ALSO READ: What Nayab Singh Saini brings to the table for BJP in Haryana ahead of Lok Sabha elections, assembly polls 2024

Can the Congress oust BJP to form Haryana govt?

The Congress has 30 MLAs in the Haryana Assembly. With the support of three MLAs, its tally touches 33. This is 13 MLAs short of the majority mark.

So, neither the Congress nor the BJP will be able to form a government in Haryana in this scenario.

What happens next?

Haryana may now witness a hung assembly – where no party has the majority's support to form the government.

If a state sees a hung assembly, then the Governor invites the leaders of the single largest party – in this case BJP – to form a temporary government for 10 days. The governor also gives that political party 10 days to gather support from other parties and prove the majority.

If the party is not able to prove a majority within these 10 days, then the government is dissolved by the Governor and a re-election is conducted in the state.