2 Independent MLAs Join BJP After Haryana Results

New Delhi: Two Independent MLAs joined BJP a day after it won the Haryana elections. Devender Kadyan and Rajesh Joon joined the BJP at Union Minister and Haryana in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan’s house in the presence of state BJP chief Mohan Lal Badoli. Kadyan, who was a BJP rebel, had won from Ganaur as an Independent while Joon defeated his BJP rival to secure victory in Bahadurgarh.

India’s richest woman Savitri Jindal, who joined the BJP in March but contested as an Independent on not getting a ticket, too is likely to extend her support to the BJP. Badoli said talks are on with Jindal if she wants to rejoin the BJP fold, NDTV reported.

A former Congress minister, Jindal won in Hisar, a seat that she had also won in 2005 and 2009. The 74-year-old leader had last month denied that she was a rebel and told NDTV she contested as an Independent to respect the wishes of the people of Hisar.

“They (the people of Hisar) wanted me to contest at any cost. Doctor sahab (Dr Kamal Gupta) is contesting from the BJP and the Congress has fielded Rara sahab (Ram Niwas Rara), so I had no choice but to contest as an Independent,” Jindal, whose son Naveen Jindal is the BJP MP from Kurukshetra, told NDTV.

The BJP pulled a surprise victory in the Haryana elections yesterday to return to power for a historic third time in a row. Sources suggest Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini would return for a second stint in the top post for leading the BJP to victory.