CHANDIGARH: Charkhi Dadri MLA
Sombir Sangwan, who had defeated ace woman wrestler Babita Phogat in the 2019 state assembly elections in Haryana, has announced withdrawal of support to the Manohar Lal Khattar-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) government in Haryana.
A BJP rebel, Sangwan was elected from Charkhi Dadri seat as an independent.
Sangwan has taken this decision to express solidarity with the farmers who have been protesting over the new agriculture laws. In his letter sent to the Haryana Vidhan Sabha speaker, Sangwan has cited the government’s “anti-farmers policies” as the reason behind his decision.
On Monday, Sangwan had resigned from the post of chairman of the Haryana Livestock Development Board.
He was among the four independent MLAs who had announced to support the Khattar government after 2019 assembly polls. He was then rewarded with the post of chairman of the board by Khattar with all facilities that are provided to a minister. He had also actively sought votes for the BJP in the Baroda bypoll.
Sangwan’s withdrawal of support, however, would not have any immediate impact on the coalition government, which is already in majority without his support. While the BJP has 40 MLAs, its alliance partner JJP has 10 MLAs in the 90-member Haryana assembly. Besides this, some other independent MLAs are also supporting the state government.
