A huge onus lies on Abhay Chautala to uphold the political legacy of his grandfather Devi Lal. With INLD reeling from crushing defeats in the recent Lok Sabha and Assembly polls and recent passing of his father, Om Prakash Chautala, his leadership is under intense scrutiny. writes Pawan Kumar Bansal
Thirty-six years ago, Devi Lal, the grandfather of Abhay Chautala, launched a campaign against the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, ousting him from power by uniting all opposition parties under the banner of the Janata Dal and installing VP Singh as Prime Minister. However, much water has flowed under the bridge since then, and Devi Lal’s family has faded from Haryana’s political firmament since 2004.
Devi Lal was dismissed from the post of Deputy Prime Minister by the then PM, V.P. Singh. Although about twenty four years ago. Om Parkash Chautala became the CM of Haryana but since the year 2004, the Indian National Lok Dal has been out of power. The death of Om Parkash Chautala on December 20, 2024, dealt another blow to the party. The party had already seen a split with Ajay Chautala, another grandson of Devi Lal, and his son, Duyshant Chautala, forming a separate party, the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP). The JJP had supported BJP in forming the government in Haryana five years ago with Dushyant Chautala becoming the deputy chief minister.
In the recently concluded Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, prominent members of the Devi Lal clan, including Ranjit Chautala, Dushyant Chautala and Abhay Chautala lost the elections. Unfortunately, a few months back, Nafe Singh Rathi, party’s state president, was murdered.
In such an uncertain political scenario, the onus falls on Abhay Chautala to revive the party which has only two members in the current Haryana Assembly. Followers of Devi Lal are divided between INLD and JJP .
Although a large number of party workers had attended the cremation of Om Parkash Chautala at Tejakhera Farm House, it is not certain how many of them actually support the INLD. In the next about five years there is no election due in Haryana barring the local bodies’ polls in urban areas of the state where the party has little support and stakes.
Although Abhay Chautala has been in the forefront for raising the issues of farmers and he had resigned from his MLA’s seat in the last Assembly in their support but again it is yet to be seen whether farming communities accept him as their leader. He has a good chance of winning the confidence of people by raising their grievances as the Congress, the main opposition party with five members in Lok Sabha and 37 legislators in Haryana, is a divided house and it is yet to choose a leader of the legislature party.
Political analyst Devinder Surjewala opines that Abhay Chautala is a born fighter but he has a tough task ahead regarding revival of the party. Abhay may emerge as a leader if like his grandfather Devi Lal, he succeeds in making the party acceptable to leaders of all castes, he claims.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as on date does not have any significant presence in Haryana and only Congress and INLD are the two opposition parties competing in the state’s political landscape. The disadvantage for INLD is that its influence is now confined only to some rural pockets of Sirsa and Fatehabad districts. Beyond these areas, more particularly in urban and semi-urban areas, INLD is no longer relevant and its vote share is fast depleting. Both the Congress and the BJP are fast eating into its vote share.
In the absence of Om Parkash Chautala , it is uncertain how much Abhay would succeed in connecting with the old sympathisers of the party. Abhay is yet to test the waters and has yet to prove his calibre in carrying on the legacy of Devi Lal and Om Parkash Chautala .
