As Haryana readies itself for a high-stakes assembly election, with the final election campaign concluded on Thursday evening, amidst all this, a persistent feature continues to figure in the state’s politics- domination of Dynasts commonly called political families in Haryana elections.
Despite 1000 candidates contesting the assembly election, dynasts continue to thrive across all the political parties-whether it’s regional or national party.
Presence Of Dynasts In Haryana Politics
For example, around seven candidates from the families of Devi Lal’s four sons, who passed away in 2001, are fighting the 2024 Haryana elections. Notably, Ranjit Chautala, who is the brother of five CM Om Prakash Chautala & one of Devi Lal’s sons, is running as an independent from the family stronghold of the Rania seat, where he faces Arjun Chautala, Om Prakash’s grandson, who is contesting on an INLD ticket.
Additionally, Abhay Chautala, another son of Om Prakash Chautala, is the INLD candidate for the Ellenabad seat, a party stronghold since 2000. He has secured the seat four times since 2010, while his father, Om Prakash Chautala, claimed victory in 2009.
This phenomena is not restricted to Chautala family per se, the family of Bansi Lal also has members participating in a high-octane haryana elections, for example, Bansi Lal’s granddaughter, Shruti Choudhry, representing the BJP, and his grandson, Anirudh Chaudhary, from the Congress, are competing against each other for the Tosham seat in Bhiwani.
Shruti is the daughter of Bansi Lal’s late son, Surender Singh, and BJP Rajya Sabha MP Kiran Choudhry. Kiran and her daughter made the switch to the BJP from the Congress in June of this year. While, Anirudh is the son of Bansi Lal’s elder son, Ranbir Mahendra. Additionally, Bansi Lal’s son-in-law, Somvir Singh, is running for the Badhra seat.
Despite PM Modi speaking out against presence of dynastic politics in haryana at election rallies, his party BJP too isn’t free of it. BJP candidate Arti Singh Rao is a daughter of union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh is contesting from Ateli seat. Moreover, the BJP has nominated Manmohan Bhadana, the son of party leader Kartar Singh Bhadana, for the Samalkha seat.
In Haryana, congress also accommodates the heirs & scions of political families. In Panchkula, Chander Mohan, the elder son of Bhajan Lal, is running on a Congress ticket, while his grandson, Bhavya Bishnoi, is the BJP candidate from the family stronghold of Adampur.
In conclusion, the trend of promoting family ties in politics is evident across all political families in Haryana. Meanwhile, the state will vote on October 5, 2024, with results announced to be on October 8 2024.
Must Read: 2024 Haryana Elections: A Look Back At AAP’s Position In Poll-Bound State
