From day one, I've disagreed to any alliance with Cong: Dushyant Chautala

The issues today are not patriotism and nationalism. People should start the debate on demonetisation and GST

Dushyant Chautala, 31, founder of the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) who in 2014 became the youngest MP, is again contesting from Haryana’s Hisar. The grandson of Om Prakash Chautala and the great grandson of former deputy prime minister Chaudhary Devi Lal, Dushyant talks to Nitin Kumar about JJP’s alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Jind bypolls, and how a victory in this election for the JJP will change the dynamics of power in the state. Edited excerpts:

You fought the 2014 elections for the first time. What are your achievements in the last five years that you plan to show the people?

Hisar has achieved a lot in the last five years. Our district was one of the first in India to get a passport seva kendra inside a post office. The first seva kendra was opened in February 2017 and after that it was set up in all district headquarters of the state. After I spoke thrice in Parliament on the issue, this decision was taken. We also constructed two washing yards at our railway station, which helped Hisar connect with Sikandrabad, Coimbatore and Hyderabad. To tackle the water problem in Hisar, we gave 250 tankers to the people. We distributed over 175 fogging machines to reduce the problem of mosquito-prone diseases in my constituency. Hisar was the first district in Haryana where Wi-Fi enabled smart cameras were installed for Rs 15 lakh, which has helped us to reduce the crime rate in the city. The people of Hisar could not imagine all these would be achieved in such a short span of time. On these issues, I am going to the polls to seek the peoples’ mandate.

Your last election was fought on the Indian National Lok Dal’s (INLD’s) symbol; this time you have your own party. What difference do you see in the two elections?

I don’t see much of a change. We have the cadre, the people who are following Chaudhary Devi Lal Ji’s ideology. After the Jind byelection, people took us seriously. And, in this election, we have some extremely capable people contesting the polls. Even the ruling BJP is taking us very seriously now. It has understood that we can change the political scenario in the state.

There was speculation about you allying with the Congress. What do you have to say to this. Do you think an alliance with AAP will benefit JJP?

From Day One, I totally disagreed to any alliance with the Congress. In 1971, Chaudhary Devi Lal Ji left the Congress and from that day we had never tilted towards that party till today. That step (pact with Congress) was taken by Arvind Kejriwal ji and it was primarily for Delhi and not for Haryana. It was taken by him without consulting us. I think 5 per cent of the vote share, which AAP got in the earlier Lok Sabha election, will shift to the JJP and that will change the dynamics of power in the state.

What are the issues on which your party is fighting this election?

The issues today are not patriotism and nationalism. They are what the country has achieved in the last five years. People should start the debate on demonetisation and GST. I think the media has become too biased on real issues like how many houses have been built. Have the rapes stopped in Haryana? BJP started ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ and after that crime against women is going up day by day. What has the government done to increase the income of farmers? We are a state known for our defence forces. Most terrorist attacks have taken place in the last five years. People are coming out openly as you have seen our brave soldier going up to Varanasi to contest against the Prime Minister. 

If Samajwadi Party candidate Tej Bahadur Yadav’s nomination was accepted, would your party support his candidature against the PM?

If his nomination was accepted, every Haryanvi would have supported his candidature. It doesn’t matter if he is Samajwadi party candidate. 

How would you assess the performance of the ruling Manohar Lal Khattar government in the state vis-a-vis Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s tenure?

Our main opposition is against two thought processes – one which has looted Haryana for 10 years and the other which has divided us for the last five years. In the last four and a half years, we have seen the state burning several times.

Twitter: @nitinaayog