Amid the fast-moving changes in Haryana, an old hand: Bhupinder Singh Hooda

“Saari batein aapko batani zaroori nahin hain (It’s not necessary to tell you everything),” says former Haryana chief minister and Congress Legislature Party leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda when asked if more MLAs on the BJP side are in touch with him.

The architect of the recent shake-up in the state that has left the BJP government on the brink, Hooda, sources said, may have missed his mark by just a whisker. A past master at outmanoeuvring rivals – and party colleagues – he had reportedly convinced four Independent MLAs to withdraw support to the BJP government and extend the same to the Congress, over personal meetings.

However, word got out, and only three made it to the Rohtak press conference led by Hooda, and announced they had switched sides.

One more, and the Nayab Singh Saini-led government could have found itself short of a majority. Right now, with 40 BJP MLAs, two Independents and one Haryana Lokhit Party legislator backing it, the Saini government has a strength of 43, plus claims support of four Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) MLAs, in a House whose effective strength is 88. Even if the JJP moves for the disqualification of these four, the BJP would still make the majority mark of 43, in a House with its strength reduced to 84.

Sources said that the game was not over yet and Hooda was still in touch with other Independent MLAs and the JJP’s 10 MLAs, whose loyalties to Dushyant Chautala are suspect.

One of the Independent MLAs now with the Congress, Sombir Sangwan, told The Indian Express: “Wait till June 4… As soon as the Lok Sabha election results are out, many BJP MLAs will also be ready to shift sides.”

Even if the Saini government survives, the Assembly elections are less than five months away and Hooda has