Three newly elected Independent MLAs in Haryana, including chairperson emeritus of the OP Jindal Group Savitri Jindal, on Wednesday extended their support to the Bharatiya Janata Party, reported India Today.

Jindal won from the Hisar constituency on Tuesday.

The other two MLAs who pledged their support to the Hindutva party are Rajesh Joon, who defeated BJP’s Dinesh Kaushik in Bahadurgarh, and Devender Kadyan, a BJP rebel who contested from Ganaur.

The BJP won the Haryana Assembly election by clinching 48 seats in the 90-member House. This was an increase from the 40 seats it won in the 2019 polls. The Congress won 37 seats on Tuesday.

“All the three independent MLAs are very happy with BJP’s victory and they are willing to support the party,” BJP’s Haryana unit chief Mohan Lal Badoli was quoted as saying by India Today. “They are in Delhi and are meeting the high command.”

Jindal, who had decided to contest the polls alone after she failed to get a BJP ticket, later said she decided to support the party “for the development of Hisar”, reported ANI.

Earlier in the day, all three independent MLAs met Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan and BJP MP Biplab Kumar Deb,

Jindal, 74, had quit the Congress and joined the BJP in March. She is the mother of Kurukshetra BJP MP Naveen Jindal.

The Legislative Assembly in Haryana has 90 members and 46 seats are required for a party or alliance to stake claim on forming the government.

The Assembly polls in Haryana took place in a single phase on Saturday. A turnout of 67.9% was recorded.


Also read: Five reasons for the BJP’s unprecedented third-time win in Haryana