Haryana: Political history
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
Contents |
Family ties
2012-19
May 1, 2019: The Times of India
From: May 1, 2019: The Times of India
Family ties run across Haryana rivalries
Chandigarh:
There’s a filial line running through Haryana’s political scene as several candidates and netas who find themselves in rival camps belong to the same families.
For instance, Congress veteran and former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s son-in-law, Kunal Bhadoo, is a BJP leader in Punjab’s Abohar. Kunal’s mother, Vijay Laxmi Bhadoo, had contested the 2012 assembly elections as the saffron party’s nominee from Abohar in Punjab, but lost to Congress’ Sunil Jakhar.
Similarly, Union minister Birender Singh, a bitter rival of Hooda, is his maternal cousin. He openly revolted against Hooda when they were together in Congress and joined BJP just before the assembly elections in Haryana in August 2014.
BJP’s Sonipat leader Krishna Gahlaut, who is also chairperson of Haryana State Agriculture Marketing Board, is the mother-in-law of senior Rajasthan Congress leader Jyoti Mirdha Gehlaut. Jyoti is married to Krishna’s son Narender, who is a senior executive at IndiaBulls. Jyoti is contesting the Lok Sabha election on a Congress ticket from the Nagaur seat in Rajasthan.
Jyoti’s sister Hemsweta Mirdha Hooda is married to Deepender Hooda, the son of former CM Bhupinder Hooda. So, there’s a family link between BJP’s Gahlaut and Hooda as well. Senior Haryana Congress member Captain Ajay Yadav’s son Chiranjeev Rao is married to Anushka, daughter of former Bihar CM and RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav.
INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala might be criticising BJP on many platforms, but his brotherin-law Abhishek Matoria is a senior BJP leader in Rajasthan. He is a two-time MLA from the Nauhar assembly seat in Hanumangarh district of Rajasthan. Gurgaon MP Rao Inderjit Singh’s brother Rao Yadavendra Singh is in Congress. The MP’s other brother, Rao Ajit Singh, was in INLD but he quit some time back.
Former deputy PM Devi Lal’s grandson Aditya Chautala is in BJP and the Haryana government recently appointed him chairperson of Haryana State Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development Bank.
Aditya is Devi Lal’s youngest son Jagdish Chautala’s son. Aditya had defeated INLD leader Abhay Chautala’s wife in the zila parishad polls held in January 2016.
Holy men’s clout
As in 2019
Sat Singh, Sep 30, 2019: The Times of India
From: Sat Singh, Sep 30, 2019: The Times of India
Key Highlights
With the state assembly elections almost here, the focus is once again on deras dotting Haryana’s hinterland
Their ability to sway the political will of their followers has added to their lure to the leaders of all hues
Often donning saffron robes, these babas not only are sought after by the state politicians but also the national-level leaders
ROHTAK: Godmen and preachers have long had a say in the politics of India, and Haryana has been a prime example of it. Their ability to sway the political will of their followers has added to their lure to the leaders of all hues. The situation seems to have grown even more interesting in the past few years and with the state assembly elections almost here, the focus is once again on deras dotting Haryana’s hinterland.
Removal of some influential godmen like Satlok Ashram’s Rampal and Dera Sacha Sauda’s Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has only given more play to the remaining. Often donning saffron robes, these babas not only are sought after by the state politicians but also the national-level leaders.
TOI takes a look on some of the prominent preachers in Rohtak who were often seen rubbing shoulders with who’s who of politics, making them godly figure for politicians who want to secure a ticket or aspire to win elections.
Baba Balak Nath: Alwar MP Baba Balak Nath is also the chancellor of Baba Mast Nath University situated on Rohtak-Delhi road. The Mast Nath Dera situated between Rohtak and Jind has a large following in Nath community across the country. Often choppers big politicians of different parties land at the private university. Name of Balak Nath was doing rounds as probable BJP candidate for Rohtak Lok Sabha in May. Balak Nath comes from Yadav community. He also shares cordial relations with former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda family.
Kali Dass Maharaj: Kali Dass Maharaj has his dera in Sampla of Rohtak district. He is said to have been surviving solely on coconut water. In 2017, Union home minister Amit Shah, then BJP chief, visited the dera during his three-day visit to Rohtak in 2017. From chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar to party working president J P Nadda, all have visited the dera, and Kali Dass is often seen in events organized under BJP banner. Those close to him boast of his “direct connection” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the past, he had even taken local BJP leaders for a photo-op with Modi. A woman MP who had left her shining career in bureaucracy believed to have got party ticket due this connections.
Baba Kapil Puri: He heads the dera called ‘GauKaran Dham’ in old Rohtak city and is revered by Punjabi community. Kapil Puri is considered close to former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and is said to naturally lean towards the Congress. Like Balak Nath, his name was also doing rounds as a potential candidate party from Rohtak but as the Congress candidate. Due to his influence in Punjabi community, the Congress sees him as an answer to Haryana minister Manish Grover. Though the he denies having any interest in electoral politics, the preacher does boast that leaders from all parties come and bow before the dera. “I may not be interested in contesting but I can get ticket for anyone,” he has been heard saying. His presence at BJP events doesn’t surprise anyone either.
Baba Karan Puri: He also has clout on Punjabi community population based in Rohtak. His headquarters, called Balak Puri Dera’ is located near Double Fatak area. The dera remains abuzz with visits of BJP leaders and Karan Puri also freely obliges the saffron party by his presence in their events. Some Punjabis say that the community is divided between Kapil Puri and Karan Puri.
Mahant Satish Dass: Satish Dass joined incumbent BJP formally after ending his ties with the Indian National Lok Dal. He was even candidate of INLD from Meham constituency in the 2014 state assembly polls and finished third after the Congress and BJP candidates. He has his headquarters in Meham area of Rohtak district. He draws his strength from people of Meham villages coming to the dera for decades.
2014-19
Defections
From: Sep 22, 2019: The Times of India
'See graphic’:
Haryana, 2014-19: Political defections
2019
BJP’s Jind victory strengthens Khattar
BJP’s victory in the Jind assembly bypoll has come as a morale booster for the party ahead of Lok Sabha polls, validating the choice of Manohar Lal Khattar to lead the first-ever saffron government in Haryana.
BJP’s Krishan Midha defeated Digvijay Chautala, the rebel grandson of former CM O P Chautala who was in the fray on the platform of Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), by nearly 13,000 votes. Congress’s Randeep Singh Surjewala, head of the party’s national media cell who has gained prominence under Rahul Gandhi, came a poor third and just managed to save his security deposit.
Chautala’s INLD suffered a bigger humiliation. Its candidate Umed Raghu polled a measly 3,454 votes.
The bypoll was held following the death of Midha’s father H C Midha, who had won it on an INLD ticket.
Strengths, weaknesses of parties before assembly elections
Ajay Sura, Oct 20, 2019: The Times of India
Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP)
S The saffron party, which has been in power for five years, is contesting the assembly polls from a position of strength. Its landslide victory in the 2019 parliamentary elections and growth of its cadre have put the BJP in a position to attract votes from all sections of the state. Several policy announcements made at the fag end of the government’s tenure are likely to help the party.
The party is banking on non-Jat votes and has made current chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar its CM face — with focus on recruitment for government jobs.
The biggest strength of BJP is that it was in power for the past five years both in the state and at the Centre and a large chunk of voters are influenced by several decisions of the Modi government, especially surgical strike in Pakistan and abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu & Kashmir.
W Haryana had witnessed riots, bloodshed and violence during BJP’s five-year tenure for the first time after it was formed in 1966. Some 70 people were killed in violence during Jat stir for reservation in February 2016 and in the Panchkula Dera violence in August 2017. The Jat violence had caused a caste divide in the state. Also, the party has not been able to win the confidence of the state’s sizeable Jat community completely.
O The opposition is completely fragmented in the state. Congress is divided in five different groups and its former state president Ashok Tanwar resigned from his post and later the membership of the party at a crucial juncture by publicly criticising the party leadership. Once Haryana’s formidable regional party, INLD too is in an state of disarray — former CM and party patriarch OP Chautala is in jail and his sons opted for a political and familial split. The BJP has strong opportunity to influence public in this scenario. As a large number of legislators and senior leaders from other parties joined BJP, it got an opportunity to expand its cadre in almost every assembly segment.
T Anti-incumbency is a natural factor that BJP, which has been ruling the state for the past five years, will face. Many BJP leaders who rebelled after being denied party tickets in the assembly elections are a serious threat for the ruling party in several constituencies. Jat community, which has been dominating the state’s politics for a long time, is feeling isolated. A larger number of Jat youngsters are in jail in connection with the February 2016 violence and that factor may go against BJP in the polls. Strong standing of JJP led by Dushyant Chautala in several seats, where he has mainly fielded BJP rebels, is also a threat. Resentment among employees against Khattar government may also have an adverse impact.
INDIAN NATIONAL LOK DAL (INLD)
S INLD’s main strength is its voters in rural area, especially among the farming community. It has a strong legacy of iconic leader and former deputy prime minister Devi Lal. There is some sympathy for the party as its patriarch and former CM O P Chautala is in jail on account of teachers’ recruitment scam.
W Its main weakness is split in the party and emergence of Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) led by former Hisar MP Dushyant Chautala. Most of the party cadre has shifted to JJP. Even all top party leaders have either joined BJP or Congress. INLD has even failed to field candidates on all seats this time. Party supremo O P Chautala is still behind the bars. O Distribution of tickets by BJP to turncoats on many seats, especially in INLD stronghold of Sirsa may benefit the party as some are facing criticism during campaign for switching loyalties. The party can expect some sympathy votes for OP Chautala’s continued incarceration and for desertion by several senior leaders at a such crucial stage. If party manages to win some seats, it would be in a position to bargain in case of a hung assembly.
T Dushyant Chautala’s JJP which has managed to shift a large number of INLD workers in its favour is a major threat as both the parties espouse the same ideology. If party fails to get any seat or requisite number of votes this time, it may lose the status of being a recognized political outfit. On some seats, INLD’s candidates have already announced support to other party candidates. The biggest threat is public perception that INLD has been decimated after the split.
Congress
S It has a good combination of leadership — Jat leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Dalit leader Kumari Selja to influence a wide range of voters. Two-time chief minister Hooda’s experience and influence in the state’s politics is also an advantage in almost every assembly seat. Congress is best option for voters fed up with the ruling BJP and keen to vote for a national party. Anti-incumbency against BJP would also go in favour of Congress that has a strong vote bank as it is acceptable to almost every caste in the state.
W The biggest weakness is that there no unity amongst its leaders and the party is completely divided. Voters still remember the scams that took place during Hooda’s regime. Hooda is facing a large number of criminal cases in which charge sheets have been filed against him in CBI court. Like Narendra Modi in BJP, Congress has no such influential leader at Centre who can run Modi-like influential campaign for its candidates.
O At a time when there is some resentment against the BJP, Congress has a strong chance to fill that vacuum. As the state’s largest regional party, INLD is on the verge of collapse and its cadre may shift to Congress. Led by Hooda, Congress has the chance to get support of the Jat community has been feeling isolated during BJP’s five-year tenure. T The biggest threat again is lack of unity among the party leaders. Although former state Congress president Ashok Tanwar has no strong influence on voters, Congress may suffer some loss in elections due to his serious accusations against senior Haryana unit leaders. Another major threat is the emergence of JJP’s Dushyant Chautala as a popular leader in rural areas. JJP is doing extremely well on several seats, where Congress had strong chances of registering victory.
Jannayak Janata Party (JJP)
S Formed by O P Chautala’s elder son Ajay Chautala and his son Dushyant after split from INLD, JJP has managed to attract a majority of INLD cadre. Its biggest strength is its leader Dushyant who has emerged as the state’s biggest crowd-puller. The party has influence in rural areas, which play a decisive role in the elections.
W As the JJP is a new party and is contesting assembly polls for the first time, it is lacks a good mix of senior leaders. A large number of turncoats from other parties have joined JJP to get tickets, so it would be a major challenge for Dushyant to keep his flock together after the elections. Hooda too may harm JJP’s prospects as both have a strong influence on Jat voters.
O Anti-BJP sentiments, especially among Jats who are looking for a strong leader, may help JJP. If Dushyant and some of JJP candidates manage to win, the party would emerge as strong force. A decent vote percentage would help it to get the status of a recognized political party. Its performance in these assembly polls would also help it build its cadre. As he is contesting against former Union minister and Rajya Sabha MP Birender Singh’s wife Prem Lata from Uchana, Dushyant's victory would make him undisputed Jat CM face in the state’s politics.
T Dushyant is the only star campaigner for JJP and is most wanted by his candidates for canvassing, He been unable to devote much time to his own constituency. If he loses the assembly election and some of his candidates are elected, it would be difficult for him to keep the party united. His biggest threat is his estranged uncle Abhay Singh Chautala, an influential leader who is keen to weaken Dushyant politically.
