Switch to BJP? Manesar mayor’s husband, Ind councillors meet MP

Gurgaon: Manesar mayor's husband and 15 councillors, among them 13 who fought as Independent candidates, on Wednesday met Union minister and Gurgaon MP Rao Inderjit Singh, sparking speculation that they will join BJP.If they do, BJP will have a perfect score in the March 2 civic elections, which saw the Bharatiya Janata Party win eight out of nine mayoral contests in Haryana. Manesar was the only outlier. Independent candidate Inderjeet Yadav defeated BJP's Sunder Lal Yadav to become the industrial town's first mayor. Of 20 wards in MCM, just seven were won by BJP while the remaining went to Independent councillors.Inderjeet Yadav, who has repeatedly claimed that she has the support of Gurgaon MP Rao Inderjit Singh, said on Wednesday: "We have faith in the leadership of Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh. We will decide our next plan of action in accordance with the direction received from him."She added that she has the support of 15 out of 20 newly elected Manesar municipal corporation councillors. The 15 councillors who accompanied Inderjeet Yadav's husband Rakesh Hayatpuri for Wednesday's meeting includes 13 Independents and two BJP functionaries.Many of those who won Manesar's wards as Independent candidates were ticket hopefuls from BJP who were not fielded by the party. Hayatpuria had also sought a ticket for mayoral post for his wife from the party, but Bharatiya Janata Partywent the other way, picking Sunder Lal Yadav, who is considered close to Haryana cabinet minister Rao Narbir Singh.Bharatiya Janata Party sources had earlier said infighting was likely to be the cause of the party's mellow performance in Manesar.Rao Inderjit Singh, whose recommendation to pick Inderjeet Yadav was unheeded, also stayed away from campaigning in the industrial town ahead of the polls.Bharatiya Janata Party's top brass had also urged voters not to elect candidates with criminal histories – an apparent reference to Hayaturia's background.Both Inderjit Singh and Narbir Singh are prominent Ahirwal faces in a region where the largest voter bloc is from the community.