Two Haryana Independent MLAs join BJP day after saffron party's historic hat-trick stunner

Rajesh Joon and Devender Kadyan, two independent MLAs of Haryana, joined the party, pushing the saffron party's tally to 50.  

BJP MP Naveen Jindal, along with his mother, Savitri Jindal, the richest woman in India and an Independent MLA from Haryana’s Hisar constituency, met with Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and BJP MP Biplab Kumar Deb in New Delhi.

Haryana BJP chief Mohan Lal Badoli said the three Independent MLAs of Haryana, including Savitri Jindal, had expressed their willingness to back the BJP.

Savitri Jindal, the mother of Kurukshetra BJP MP Naveen Jindal, had also contested the election as an independent from Hisar. She defeated Ram Niwas Rara of Congress by 18,941 votes.

The BJP scripted a stunning turnaround in the Haryana Assembly polls, winning 48 seats, its best-ever haul since the state came into existence in 1966. The Congress, which was leading in the initial rounds, ended with 37 seats.

"All the three independent MLAs are very happy with BJP's victory and they are willing to support the party. They are in Delhi and are meeting the high command," Badoli said.

Rajesh Joon had contested from Bahadurgarh and defeated BJP's Dinesh Kaushik by a margin of 41,999 votes. Devender Kadyan, a BJP rebel, who contested as an independent, defeated Congress's Kuldip Sharma by 35,209 votes from Ganaur. 

The INLD won two seats in Haryana this year while the JJP and AAP failed to open their accounts.

Earlier today, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini reached Delhi and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who complimented him for leading the party to a victory for a third straight term. 

Sadly for the Congress, when the counting of votes began at 8 am on Tuesday, early trends suggested a landslide win for the Congress with over 55 seats. 

The grand old party workers were seen distributing ‘jalebis’, a juicy sweet that hogged headlines due to Rahul Gandhi's poll promise. 

However, the tables turned within hours as the trends drastically shifted in the BJP's favour.

A day after Congress faced defeat in the Haryana Assembly polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on the opposition party, calling it "irresponsible" and a "factory to spread hatred." 

Speaking virtually after inaugurating development projects worth over Rs 7,600 crore in Maharashtra, Modi said the Congress was determined to divide Hindus and sow discord between communities.  

Modi said the win in Haryana reflected the mood of the nation and reaffirmed faith in his government’s policies, especially ahead of the Maharashtra elections expected next month.

“The entire ecosystem of Congress was misleading the public in Haryana. They tried to spread lies among Dalits. 

The Dalits realised that Congress would snatch away reservations from them and distribute them to their vote bank (i.e Muslims) ,” Modi said.