By IANS,
Chandigarh: All seven Independent candidates in the Haryana assembly Friday resolved to support the Congress party in formation of the new government in the state.
The Independents gave their letters of support to the Congress and later met Haryana Governor Jagannath Pahadia to reiterate their support.
“They have passed the resolution unanimously and have offered unconditional support to the Congress,” state Power Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala told media here as the Congress legislators met to choose their leader in the new assembly.
The Congress, which emerged as the single largest party in a hung assembly with 40 seats, needed six legislators to tote up simple majority in the house.
The Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC), led by former chief minister Bhajan Lal and his son Kuldeep Bishnoi, both of whom were Congressmen till two years ago, also said Friday that it would be part of the new government in the state.
“People have elected us with expectations that we will deliver. We will be part of the new government,” HJC president Kuldeep Bishnoi told media in New Delhi without specifying if he would support the Congress government.
The HJC has six legislators in the new assembly.
Political developments continued through the day in New Delhi and Chandigarh as the Congress leaders remained busy trying to get the numbers.
The Congress staked claim to form the government and state Congress president Phool Chand Mullana met the governor Friday in this regard.
“The Congress is the single largest party in the assembly. Precedent says that we should be invited to form the government. We have the numbers in the assembly,” Mullana told reporters after meeting the governor.
Opposition Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader Om Prakash Chautala accused the Congress of ‘horse-trading’ (corruption) and urged the governor not to invite it to form the government in Haryana. He said the people had voted for 50 non-Congress legislators in the 90-member assembly.
The INLD returned with 31 seats on its own and one seat of alliance partner Shiromani Akali Dal in the Oct 13 election.
Caretaker Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda remained confident that the Congress would form the next government in the state.
“We will form the government,” Hooda said.
The Congress tally was much lower than its expectation of a comfortable majority and 27 seats less than the 67 it won in the February 2005 assembly poll.