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.
Municipal committees, councils: chairpersons
2022
June 23, 2022: The Times of India
BJP and ally JJP won 25 out of 46 posts of president or chairperson of municipal committees and councils in Haryana. Nineteen posts went to Independents who were consensus candidates or supported by Congress. Debutant AAP won the president’s post in Ismailabad municipal commitee. It also recorded its first electoral win in Gurgaon, clinching the Sohna municipal committee.
Names of places
Changes in 2023
Ajay Sura, Oct 27, 2023: The Times of India
CHANDIGARH: Ganda (dirty) doesn't raise a stink anymore. Kutia Kheri (abode of bitches) doesn't seem biting any longer. Both were village names in Haryana but no longer are, thanks to a government purge.
The two are among 17 villages with "embarrassing, outlandish or outrageous" names that have been renamed in the past eight years and find pride of place in an "achievement booklet" of the Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP government released.
Villages with unspeakable names like Ganda, Kinnar (Eunuch), Kutia Kheri and Ganda Khera (place of bad people) have been renamed Ajit Nagar, Gaibi Nagar, Veerpur and Gurukul Khera, respectively. Sources said the residents of these villages had long been seeking a change of the bizarre names.
The booklet says several Muslim-sounding names of villages have been changed, too. Mustafabad, Khijrabad, Bal Rangdaan, Ameen and Mohammadheri have become Saraswati Nagar, Pratap Nagar, Bal Rajputan, Abhimanyupur and Brahampuri, respectively.
The most notable milestone of this drive was Gurgaon, rechristened Gurugram in 2016 to celebrate its link with Mahabharat's Guru Dronacharya, the Pandavas' archery teacher.
The queer names were old bugbears. In one case, Harpreet Kaur of Ganda, then 12, had become the catalyst for the name change. She had written to PM Narendra Modi in 2015 about the "embarrassment, humiliation and insults" faced by residents, who she complained were loath to reveal the name of their village.
Harpreet had also referred to frequent taunts, describing how a cousin used to heckle her saying: "Ganday gaon ke...ganday gaon ke... mujhe bada kharab lagta tha (you are from a dirty village, he would say... I used to feel awful)," Harpreet recalled. The renaming went on from June 2015 to this August.
Women in the Assembly
Woman count falls from 13% in ’14 to 9% in ’19
Mohua Chatterjee, Nov 4, 2019: The Times of India
Only 15% of MLAs elected to the 288-seat Maharashtra assembly are between the ages of 25 and 40 years while in the 90-member Haryana assembly, it is just 11%, an analysis by PRS Legislative Research has shown. However, the number of MLAs above 70 years in Haryana has gone up from 1% in 2014 to 7% in 2019. The average age of MLAs in the current Haryana assembly is 55 years.
In Maharashtra, the number of over-70 MLAs fell from 2% in 2014 to 1% this time. The number of those in the 25-40 bracket in the state fell from 20% to 15%, while 85% members are above 40 years of age.
The number of women dropped in Haryana from 13% in the last assembly to 9% this year. In Maharashtra, 24 women were elected this year compared to 20 in the last assembly.
The analysis showed an upward curve in terms of educational qualification of MLAs. The 14th Maharashtra assembly elected 57% members who are at least graduates, with 15% of them holding postgraduate degrees. The number of members educated up to the higher secondary level dropped from 47% to 43%, while the number of graduates rose from 40% to 42%. The Haryana assembly has 69% MLAs who have at least a bachelors degree, but the number of graduates fell from 54% in 2014 to 51% and post-graduates from 20% to 18%. The number of those who have studied up to the higher secondary level went up from 26% to 31%.
Maharashtra assembly got 57% graduate MLAs, with 15% of the legislators holding post-graduate degrees
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.
2024
Haryana BJP chief Saini replaces Khattar as CM
Ajay Sura, Manvir Saini & Akhilesh Singh, March 13, 2024: The Times of India
Chandigarh/New Delhi: BJP re-arranged its chessboard for LS and assembly polls by replacing two term Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar with Nayab Singh Saini, a Lok Sabha MP and state BJP chief, and ending the coalition with Dushyant Chautala’s Jannayak Janata Party (JJP). Chautala was deputy CM in the outgoing govt.
The exercise, prompted by the desire to re-energise the rainbow coalition comprising OBCs and others that BJP has tried to mobilise to deal with Congress’s plan to rally the dominant Jats against it and send a message to the socially backward categories in general, saw the party’s veteran Anil Vij, who held the home and health departments in the outgoing govt, protesting over being passed over yet again. He is said to have left the meeting when it became clear that it was going to be Saini’s day.
Sources said the choice of Saini, who is from an R S S background and had started off as Khattar’s protege, was meant to give a sharper edge to the social coalition under a younger leader. Sainis are said to be a decisive factor in 10 of the state’s 90 constituencies and can help keep together OBCs who resent Jat dominance and account for nearly half of the population.
Surprise Entry, And Then A Sudden Exit
Khattar’s Resignation As Haryana CM, 24 Hrs After PM’s Praise, Catches Many Unawares
Khattar’s exit was as surprising as his appointment in 2014 when he, a first-time MLA, was plucked from obscurity and given the responsibility because of a combination of factors — his reputation for probity that PM Modi, having looked after organisational affairs in Haryana, knew first hand; his membership of R S S and his social background as a Punjabi refugee who could head a non-Jat social alliance without ruffling the feathers of the dominant caste as an entrant from the peasant caste might. The same factors kept Khattar in good stead five years later when the party fell short of a majority and had to enlist Dushyant Chautala as an ally. His resignation on Tuesday caught many unawares largely because of the praise PM Modi had conferred on him less than 24 hours ago, fondly recalling their partnership going back to the days when he would pillion ride with Khattar on the latter’s motorcycle to carry out organisational work.
Modi wished the new CM on X and said, “Congratulations to Nayab Singh Saini on taking oath as the chief minister of Haryana. Wishing him and his team of ministers the very best for their efforts in fulfilling the aspirations of the people of Haryana.”
The party appeared to have factored in the protest by Anil Vij, a consistent sulk in the two govts of Khattar who would wear his grievance on his sleeves.
The alliance with Chautala had, in any case, looked set to collapse because of his claim for a Lok Sabha seat for JJP. BJP, which swept all 10 LS seats the last time, would not acquiesce. Sources said the rupture became inevitable after Chautala’s meeting with BJP president J P Nadda, where the latter is learnt to have expressed his disinclination to spare any of the 10 LS seats the party won by large margins in 2019. BJP has 41 MLAs in the 90-member assembly while JJP has 10. The party also enjoyed the support of six of the seven independents, and is comfortably placed even without JJP’s support.
Saini’s elevation is the latest instance of BJP’s push to nurture homegrown OBC leadership and to promote leaders under 60 years of age. It comes in the immediate wake of the surprise picks of Mohan Yadav (MP) and Vishnu Deo Sai (Chhattisgarh).
Interestingly, the swift turn of events followed BJP MP from Hisar Brijendra Singh crossing over to Congress. Singh was vehemently opposed to the alliance with JJP and would have been pleased with the collapse of the coalition. “He acted in a hurry and must be regretting it,” a BJP source said.
Five others took oath as members of the new council of ministers along with Saini. They are BJP leaders Kanwar Pal, Mool Chand Sharma, Jai Parkash Dalal and Banwari Lal and Independent MLA Ranjit Singh Chautala. Besides Vij, those dropped from the cabinet include BJP’s Kamal Gupta, Om Prakash Yadav, former Olympian Sandeep Singh and Kamlesh Dhanda, and JJP’s Dushyant Chautala, Devender Singh Babli and Anoop Singh Dhanak.
However, the council may have to be expanded to bring in Yadavs, a major constituency in the southern part of the state, and Banias, an influential factor who are being wooed by Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal for AAP, and women. Independent MLAs who supported the govt and those from JJP who are ready to break ranks with Dushyant and attended the swearing-in are expecting BJP to reciprocate. Five JJP MLAs attended the swearing-in ceremony, pointing to the planning that went into an apparently surprise move, Vij’s disappointment notwithstanding.
Job scams, loss of support among Jats hit Khattar hard
Ajay Sura, March 13, 2024: The Times of India
Chandigarh: Former R S S pracharak Manohar Lal Khattar’s exit as Haryana CM, months short of becoming the state’s longestserving incumbent, was as unexpected as his elevation to the chief ministership in 2014.
Khattar was then a relatively unknown face in politics, save for his closeness to PM Narendra Modi due to their shared R S S background. As a first-time MLA, his selection was all the more surprising because BJP had several contenders for the post, including ministers in earlier coalitions.
Had he completed his second consecutive term, Khattar would have surpassed his Congress predecessor Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s continuous tenure of nine years, seven months and 21 days.
Khattar, who took over as CM on October 26, 2014, remained in office for nine years, four months and 16 days — a stint that saw him evolve into a politician who could be as ruthless towards challengers within the party as he was against the opposition.
Khattar’s style of governance was put to the test when a series of job scams rocked Haryana and questions were raised about the functioning of govt institutions such as the state public service commission. He also lost support among the farming community, especially Jats. During the 2020-21 farmers’ agitation, he found it difficult to travel in the state’s hinterland. One school of thought is that BJP persisted with Khattar for so long because it had no one else it could immediately turn to.
His ability to align with and consolidate non-Jat voters in favour of BJP endeared him to the party even as the Jat community, which has long dominated Haryana politics, turned its back on him.
Barring March 2017, when around 16 BJP MLAs appeared to stage a revolt, Khattar never faced any trouble during his second term despite being dependent on Dushyant Chautala-led JJP and independent MLAs to keep the coalition afloat. True to BJP’s “alliance dharma”, the former CM took care not to publicly utter a word against ally JJP.
Many believe that it was the fragmentation of the opposition in Haryana, especially Congress, and the Modi factor that spared Khattar the blushes on several occasions during the past nine years.
2024 Mar: Eight BJP MLAs — seven of them first-timers — become ministers
Manvir.Saini, March 20, 2024: The Times of India
Chandigarh: Nayab Singh Saini-led Haryana govt on Tuesday carried out its first cabinet expansion, with eight BJP ministers — seven of them first-timers — taking oath at a state-level function.
Induction of Hisar MLA Kamal Gupta as cabinet minister for the second time, Ambala City MLA Aseem Goel, Thanesar (Kurukshetra) MLA Subhash Sudha, Bawani Khera (reserved) MLA Bishambar Balmiki, Nangal Chaudhary MLA Rao Abhay Singh Yadav, Badkhal MLA Seema Trikha, Sohna MLA Sanjay Singh and Panipat (rural) MLA Mahipal Dhanda as ministers of state (MoS) with independent charge took govt’s council of ministers to 14.
On March 12, besides Saini, other ministers who took oath included Rania independent MLA Ranjit Singh Chautala, Mool Chand Sharma, Jai Par- kash Dalal, Banwari Lal and Kanwar Pal Gujjar, all BJP MLAs. Portfolios will be allocated in next few days.
By ignoring Independent MLAs, ex-home and health minister Anil Vij and Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh, BJP has sent out a clear message of not budging to any pressure, while attempting to get its caste and regional equations correct. Of the 14 ministers, three (including CM Saini, Gujjar and Rao Abhay Singh) come from OBC category, two (Mool Chand Sharma and Trikha) are Brahmins, three (Ranjit Singh Chautala, Dalal and Dhanda) belong to Jat community, two (Banwari Lal and Balmiki) are from Dalit community, and Goel and Kamal Gupta are from Vaish community.
In the 90-member House, BJP has 41 MLAs, Congress 30, JJP 10, INLD and HLP one each and rest are independent MLAs.
