Hisar proves to be epitome of dynastic politics

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Hisar proves to be epitome of dynastic politics

Wednesday, 08 May 2019 | Nishu Mahajan | Chandigarh

Hisar Lok Sabha constituency is witnessing a “mother of all electoral battles” with three political dynasts locked in a triangular contest in the Lok Sabha elections.

Personal prestige has taken precedence over collective political stakes at Hisar, where the financial and political muscle of the Bishnois, the Chautalas and the Birender Singh family in Haryana will be the X-factor in shaping the poll outcome.

The Jannayak Janta Party-Aam Aadmi Party’s joint candidate and outgoing MP Dushyant Chautala, great –grandson of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal is facing a tough electoral fight against political greenhorns –BJP’s Bijender Singh, former IAS officer and great grandson of acclaimed farmer leader Sir Chhotu Ram and Congress’ nominee Bhavya Bishnoi, grandson of former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal.

These three scions, all with foreign degrees are slugging it out in the general elections to preserve their political legacy.

Dushyant, while representing the undivided Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) in 2014 polls had defeated the BJP-HJC joint candidate Kuldeep Bishnoi, son of former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal, to become the youngest ever elected MP to the Lok Sabha.

But this time, it is totally a different ball game for Chautala scion Dushyant, 31, who is now a leader of Jannayak Janta Party, a splinter group of INLD and facing two opponents from equally influential political families of Haryana.

Among other 26 candidates in the fray from Hisar seat included INLD’s Suresh Koth and Loktantra Suraksha Party-Bahujan Samaj Party’s joint candidate, Surinder Sharma.

Hisar parliamentary seat is known as epicenter of strong caste polarization in Haryana politics and with two Jats and one-non Jat candidate from three mainstream parties in the fray, the political analysts seem divided in drawing a conclusion to the poll outcome and see it as a contest between Dushyant and Bhavya, with these two, likely to divide the Jat and non-Jat voters respectively in their favor in the constituency.

Dushyant, a Jat, comes from influential Chautala clan and is a grandson of former Chief Minister and INLD’s supremo Om Prakash Chautala. Leading the JJP, which has an alliance with AAP in Haryana, Dushyant vows to take forward the legacy of Chaudhary Devi Lal and is seeking his re-election from Hisar with a promise to take forward the development works undertaken by him in the last five years.

The JJP leader is also hoping that resentment among Jat community against the BJP could be the ace-in-the-hole for him in the elections.

On the other hand, Bhavya Bishnoi, 26, who is among the youngest candidates in the fray, is contesting from Hisar to take revenge of his father Kuldeep’s defeat in 2014 polls from the same constituency.

Bhavya’s grandfather former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal, was a prominent non-Jat leader, who had managed to become a potential non-Jat option and led the Congress for years, bringing together non-Jats like Dalits, Yadavs and other Hindu castes in Haryana.

The third-generation politician, Bhavya is also banking upon the caste based political alignments to register a maiden victory in Hisar, where his father and grandfather had won in the past.

The BJP’s candidate, Brijendra Singh, son of Union Minister and Rajya Sabha MP Birender Singh is hoping that “Modi factor” in Lok Sabha polls will help him sail through the ballot tussle.

A Haryana cadre IAS officer of 1998 batch, Brijendra, 46, has voluntarily retired from the Haryana Government to carry forward the political legacy of his great grandfather and peasant leader Sir Chhotu Ram. His father, Birender Singh being a prominent Jat leader in Haryana, Brijendra is also positive of getting support of Jat community.

Interestingly, mothers of these three key candidates are legislators in Haryana Assembly. Dushyant’s mother Naina Chautala is MLA from Dabwali assembly constituency, Bhavya’s mother Renuka Bishnoi is legislator from Hansi assembly segment and Prem Lata, mother of Brijendra Singh is MLA from Uchana Kalan assembly segment.

As per the political experts, Hisar is a Jat-dominated constituency having more than 5 lakh Jat voters, more than 80,000 Brahmins, over 36,000 Bishnois, 65,000 Punjabis while Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes constitute a sizeable number of more than 5 lakh voters.

Kulwant Singh Nehra, Assistant Professor, RBI chair at Chandigarh-based Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID) while talking to The Pioneer said, “In Hisar, the ballot fight is mainly between Dushyant and Bhavya. As strong caste polarization is working across Haryana, the same factor will also decide the election outcome in Hisar.”

Dushyant seems to have an edge over his rivals. With Jat community already unhappy with the BJP over their unfulfilled demands and BJP fielding a debutant Brijendra Singh, the saffron party is facing a tough situation in Hisar. Jat and non-Jat divide that usually dominates the electoral arena in Hisar will go in favor of either Jat Dushyant or non-Jat Bhavya, he added.

Sociologist, Jitender Prasad, a former professor of Sociology at Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU), Rohtak, said that as per the caste arithmetic, Bhajan Lal’s grandson Bhavya seems to have an advantage over the other two Jat candidates in the fray from mainstream political parties.

“Bhajan Lal had won from Hisar in 2009 and before that Congress had won the seat in 2004.

The  polarization of Jat vote had worked in favor of Dushyant last time. But with INLD divided and Dushyant representing JJP now, and another Jat candidate Brijendra Singh in the fray, Bhavya Bishnoi has a good chance of making a successful debut,” Prasad said.

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