Jannayak Janta Party leader Dushyant Chautala on Friday said he had not spoken to either the Bharatiya Janata Party or the Congress about helping them to form the next government in Haryana after the state elections resulted in a hung Assembly, ANI reported. “No one is untouchable for us,” he said at a press conference in New Delhi.

Listing his conditions, Chautala said that the next government would have to reserve 75% of jobs for local youth, and substantially increase various kinds of pensions, Hindustan Times reported.

“There are many of our party candidates who have toppled several stalwarts of both BJP and Congress,” The Indian Express quoted him as saying. “Because our voting population comprises 56% youth, our priority is that whichever political party promises us 75% reservation for youth in private jobs in Haryana, we shall primarily go with them. We have kept it open.”

He added: “We will support whichever party agrees to implement our agenda as part of a common minimum programme.”

Chautala, who was elected the leader of the JJP Legislative Party after a meeting with the newly elected MLAs, did not seem concerned by the support the BJP has received from seven Independent legislators. “I still have the key if you want a stable government in Haryana,” he said. The Jannayak Janta Party leader clarified that if the outfit decides to back anyone, it will join the government.

In the Assembly elections held on Monday, the Bharatiya Janata Party fell six seats short of the majority mark of 46 needed to form the next government. The Congress came second with 31 seats.

Now, follow and debate the day’s most significant stories on Scroll Exchange.