Chautala bahu, Bansi Lal’s son and an encore hopeful in all-Jat showdown
BADHRA (CHARKHI DADRI): It seems history is somehow repeating itself. More than two decades ago, scion of two political dynasties of Haryana crossed swords in a Parliamentary election for Bhiwani seat.
The 1998 contest was between Surender Singh, son for former chief minister Bansi Lal, and Ajay Chautala, grandson of former deputy prime minister Devi Lal. The former won. The rivalry between the dynasts continued till the 2009 Lok Sabha polls even after Surender passed away in a 2005 chopper crash. Singh’s daughter Shruti defeated Ajay Chautala in 2009.
BLAST FROM THE PAST
Badhra assembly constituency, part of the Bhiwani-Mahendergarh seat (renamed following delimitation in 2007) is all set for a blast from the past. Sitting BJP MLA Sukhvinder Sheoran faces two dynastic competitors — Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) nominee Naina Chautala, wife of Ajay Chautala, and the Congress candidate Ranbir Mahendra, son of Bansi Lal, and a former BCCI chief, in a complex triangular contest. The all-Jat fight on a predominant Jat turf promises a nail-biting finish.
All the three major contest ants have been elected as MLA only once. Naina, 53, of the JJP, who won her debut assembly poll in 2014 from Dabwali in Sirsa on an INLD ticket following the sentencing of her husband in a corruption case, opted for Badhra this time, primarily because of her husband’s past association with the region.
Congress candidate Ranbir Mahendra, 75, whose looks reminds one of his father, had won the only election of his career from now-abolished Mundhal Khurd seat in 2005. He narrowly lost Badhra in 2009 and his margin of loss was about 3.78% in 2014. Sukhvinder Sheoran, 34, who won his debut poll in 2014, was among the rare breed of six Jats from the BJP camp to have made it to the assembly.
OUTSIDER VERSUS SONS OF THE SOIL
So why did Naina opt for Badhra instead of home turf of Dabwali? “I came here on public demand. I had no intentions to give up Dabwali. Actually, people of Badhra met my husband and demanded that only our family members should contest from here. My son Dushyant refused to contest from two seats. Also, there was a demand from the constituents that a Sikh should be fielded from Dabwali. So, my husband decided to field me from here and Sarvjit Masitan from Dabwali,” says Naina as she travels to Uchana Kalan to campaign for her son Dushyant.
Her opponents term her as an outsider? “If am an outsider, then so is chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Is Karnal and Varanasi “sasural” of Khattar and Modi, respectively?’’ she snaps back. Naina mostly talks about water scarcity affecting farming and households during her public interaction. “Let Dushyant become the chief minister and I promise to bring a development turnaround here,” she says at Mandola village. Her speech is interspersed with praise for her husband who she says went to jail for giving jobs to youngsters.
Mahendra asks a gathering at Jhojhu Kalan village that why he suffers at their hands despite always remaining in touch with them. “I can say it with conviction that I visited you more than the elected representatives. Do you have a grouse against me?” he asks.
Later, he prompts a motley group at Gudana village to speak aloud on the “false” assurances of the ruling BJP. “Tell me honestly, did the BJP, for whom you voted so overwhelmingly, fulfilled its promises? If not, then why no questions have been asked from them? Let me tell you that if you remain mute, then people will stop caring about you. I am being an exception as I have a liking for you,” says Mahendra.
He then invokes his father Bansi Lal to strike a chord. “Had it not been for my father, canal water, electricity lines and roads would never have been built in this region.”
“Depleting water table is a big issue here. Farmers need more electricity to draw groundwater but the power supply is erratic. The BJP has paid no attention to this region and the people. They continue to suffer,” he says.
On Naina’s entry in Badhra, Mahendra says: “She ran away from Dabwali fearing sabotage by her brother-in-law Abhay Chautala. Also, she was not confident that she could win against her own relatives in Dabwali.”
Sukhvinder Sheoran of the BJP is of the same view. “The JJP was shaky in Dabwali hence she took refuge in Badhra,” he says.
Sheoran heavily banks on party’s “Abki Baar 75 Paar” slogan to woo voters. “The BJP is going to form the next government again. Opposition leaders fighting for survival were on lookout for safe seats. Some have come to Badhra as well,” Sheoran says in reference to Naina.
“When these outsiders sought votes, tell them you want to remain with the power. And the power is going to be again with the BJP. So let’s secure our futures,” he tells an evening crowd at Kaliyana village. He lists out the development initiatives of the BJP government to press his claim for a second term.
How is he tackling the two dynasties in fray? “I too come from a prominent political family. My grandfather Chaudhary Attar Singh was a minister in the Pepsu government. My uncle Nirpender Singh was a Haryana MLA in 1996. And here it is a question of ‘apna’ and ‘paraya’. I am no pushover,” he says.