Haryana polls: Major setback for Chautala clan; Abhay Singh, Dushyant lose

Former Deputy PM Chaudhary Devi Lal's Chautala family of Haryana is facing a potential wipeout. Several family members, including Abhay Singh, his son Arjun, and nephew Dushyant Chautala, are in fray

The Haryana Assembly elections shaped up as an unpredictable contested battle between the Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress, with the BJP making a comeback after initially trailing. The saffron party won 48 seats, while the Congress on 38.
 

However, the polls may prove a significant setback for regional players Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), which failed to make any significant gains. INLD won two seats, while JJP could not open its account. JJP had won 10 seats in 2019.

Both parties are led by members of the Chautala family, once a highly influential force in Haryana politics. Indian National Lok Dal general secretary Abhay Singh Chautala lost his Ellenabad seat in Sirsa by a margin of 15,000 votes. Congress' Bharat Beniwal won from here.

His nephew, former Haryana deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala, a JJP leader, also lost his seat from Uchana. Dushyant got only 8,000 votes, losing by a margin of 41,000 against BJP's Devender Bhuj. 

JJP had allied with Chandra Shekhar Azad’s Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) to attract Dalit voters. INLD has similarly joined forces with Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). Haryana has 17 reserved Assembly seats.

Abhay Chautala’s uncle, 79-year-old Ranjit Chautala, had aligned with BJP and was a minister in the outgoing cabinet. However, he chose to contest independently from the Rania seat after BJP denied him a ticket. "I am Chaudhary Devi Lal’s son. I have some stature... I have decided to contest as an Independent," he had said.

Ranjit Chautala lost Rania seat by over to Arjun Chautala, the son of Abhay Chautala.

JJP-INLD split

The Jannayak Janta Party was formed from a split in INLD in 2018. JJP is led by Dushyant’s father Ajay Singh Chautala, while INLD is headed by O P Chautala, five-time former Haryana chief minister. O P Chautala is Abhay Singh’s father, and Chaudhary Devi Lal, former Deputy Prime Minister of India, was O P Chautala’s father. The split resulted from infighting within the Chautala family.

Both parties aim to uphold Devi Lal’s political legacy but face the threat of extinction in Haryana. Both parties secured less than 2 per cent vote share in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.