Speculation of advancing Assembly elections in Maharashtra, Haryana and perhaps Jharkhand is rife in the political circles with the non-NDA parties viewing that the BJP wants to get an electoral mileage in these states ruled by the Congress and its allies.
While the term of Haryana Assembly will expire in October, the term of Maharashtra Assembly ends in December this year. As far as the Jharkhand Assembly is concerned, its term expires on January 3, 2015.
The BJP is ahead in all the four states as seen in the Lok Sabha polls held in April-May this year.
In Haryana, the BJP got seven seats, Indian National Lok Dal two and the Congress one of the total ten seats.
The BJP-Shiv Sena-Swabhimani Paksha combined gave a major jolt to the Congress-NCP ruling combined in Maharashtra by winning 42 of the total 48 Lok Sabha seats. the BJP alone got 23 seats.
In Jharkhand, the BJP won 12 of the total 14 Lok Sabha seats while the JMM got rest two seats.
According to the sources, the Assembly elections in these states could be held between September 20 and 25, that is either in the pitru paksha or in Navaratri, In Maharashtra, polling will be held in one phase, they said.
While the Congress will go alone in Haryana, in Maharashtra its defeated candidates and some Rajya Sabha members are pleading the line of fighting the polls separately claiming that the Sonia Gandhi led party could take on the Shiv Sena-BJP led five partes “grand alliance” and the NCP simultaneously.
Picture of pre poll alliance in Jharkhand is unclear. There, the Congress had failed to open its account in the Lok Sabha despite sharing power with the JMM.
The Assembly elections in these states would be crucial for the Congress and the BJP as well. This is because it will show impact of the Modi wave on one hand and decide the fate of the Grand Old Party.
if the NCP chief Sharad Pawar and chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda would be real players in Maharashtra and Harayana, this will be the first electoral battle the BJP will be fighting under the leadership of its chief Amit Shah who have demolished the Samajwadi Party and the BSP in Uttar Pradesh.
Meanwhile, the Congress on Wednesday constituted its election manifesto committee for Haryana under the chairmanship of Chaudhary Ram Prakash.
It consists of Mr Hooda, Kumari Selja and Birender Singh, known detractors of the CM alongwith PCC chief Ashok Tanwar.
AICC spokesman and Haryana minister Randeep Surjewala is part of the 15-member Committee which also has senior leader H.S. Chattha as a member, party general-secretrary Janardan Dwivedi announced.