Tension in BJP-JJP ties: Is it for real or just shadowboxing?

New Delhi: The purported strain in ties between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) appears to be shadowboxing between the two ruling coalition partners ahead of the Lok Sabha polls and the assembly elections in Haryana next year.

The JJP of Dushyant Chautala is a Jat-dominated party and the community is against the BJP, especially in the wake of the farmers protest following the passage of the three farm laws by the Modi government in 2021. The three laws were subsequently withdrawn.

The Jats of Haryana are rallying behind the Congress and former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda this time. They had dubbed the JJP's alliance with the BJP as a betrayal given that the community had preferred Chautala's party over the Congress in many constituencies in the state. The JJP won 10 of the 90 seats in Haryana.

During the farmers' agitation, the JJP leaders faced the ire of the Jats, who are predominantly agriculturists.

Hence, it appears to be a calculated move by the two parties to part ways ahead of the assembly elections. The JJP is widely expected to play the victim card and try to garner sympathy from the Jats and divide the votes of the community in a bid to stop the Congress from coming back to power in Haryana.

This explains the statements by leaders of the two parties indicating that they will fight the Lok Sabha and state polls separately.

Will the voters buy the shadowboxing? Only time will tell.