The electoral battle of Jind by-poll has turned into a bitter fight in the Chautala clan. After a furlough was denied to Indian National Lok Dal chief OP Chautala, the octogenarian leader and his wife Sneh Lata launched a vitriolic attack on their grandsons Hisar MP Dushyant and Digvijay.
OP Chautala and senior leaders of the INLD while describing the cancellation of furlough as a conspiracy by Dushyant and Digvijay ahead of Jind bypoll scheduled on January 28, went onto call them “traitors”.
While Dushyant and Digvijay, who have launched a separate outfit, Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) have maintained calm and refuted the allegations, their mother, MLA from Dabwali, Naini Chautala was moved to tears on Tuesday during the election campaigning at Jind.
Naina, while urging voters to support his younger son, Digvijay, who is JJP’s candidate in Jind bypoll, turned emotional and could not hold back her tears.
With the Jind bypoll becoming a “matter of pride and survival” in the state politics for both INLD and its splinter group JJP, the cancellation of furlough of former Chief Minister OP Chautala has triggered a bitter exchange of words between the leaders of the two parties.
The matter has given INLD fresh political ammunition to attack the JJP as the denial of furlough to OP Chautala came hours after Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party announced its support to JJP’s Digvijay Chautala for Jind bypoll.
INLD chief OP Chautala alongwith his elder son Ajay Chautala is undergoing 10 years imprisonment in Delhi’s Tihar Jail after their conviction in JBT teachers’ scam in 2013.
Notably, JJP was floated in December by Ajay Chautala alongwith his two sons, Dushyant and Digvijay after the trio were expelled by OP Chautala for “anti-party activities”.
The keenly watched Jind bypoll have Congress’ heavyweight MLA Randeep Singh Surjewala, JJP’s Digvijay Chautala, BJP’s Krishan Middha, son of late INLD MLA Hari Chand Middha and INLD’s low profile candidate Umed Singh Redhu.
In the bypoll, the JJP is likely to eat into the Jat vote bank of INLD, the party founded in 1996 by former Deputy Prime Minister Choudhary Devi Lal, father of OP Chautala.
While JJP’s Digvijay is seen as strong contender in Jind bypoll, the chances of INLD seems bleak in the electoral contest. Out on furlough, OP Chautala was expected to campaign for the party candidate Umed Singh Redhu, in a bid to save its sliding vote bank in the state.
Leader of opposition and INLD’s senior leader, Abhay Chautala, while talking to the mediapersons on Tuesday announced to break personal ties with sister-in-law Naina Chautala and nephews Dushyant and Digvijay.
In a blistering attack on the family members of Ajay Chautala, his younger brother Abhay said that family of Ajay has conspired against my father and mother and we will never forgive them for this.
It was due to the conspiracy of Dushyant-Digvijay and Delhi’s AAP Government that the furlough of OP Chautala Sahab was cancelled, he claimed.
Chautala added that he will approach Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to demand an inquiry to expose the political conspiracy into the issue. We will also approach Court to ensure that no injustice is being done to my father, he added.
After his furlough was cancelled, a video of OP Chautala while talking to the mediapersons also went viral where he alleged that a conspiracy has been hatched to stop him to campaign for INLD candidate in Jind.
Calling his grandsons –Dushyant and Digvijay—as traitors, OP Chautala had alleged that AAP has hatched this conspiracy, along with the JJP and the voters of Jind will teach a lesson to them. He had also made an appeal to the voters to support INLD’s Umed Singh Redhu in bypoll.
A letter purportedly written by OP Chautala also came forth where he had repeated his allegations against Dushyant and Digvijay.
Amid the ongoing family drama, another video of ailing Sneh Lata, wife of OP Chautala was also released by the INLD where she was seen condemning her grandsons for ruining the family.
Hisar MP, Dushyant Chautala has however denied the allegations saying that the furlough was cancelled on technical grounds and we have nothing to do with the issue.
Responding to the comments made by his family members against him, Dushyant said that we respect our elders and we will not make any comment against them.
Digvijay Chautala, who is making his political debut in Jind bypolls, said the allegations levelled against the JJP are baseless.
If we were that powerful, we would have brought our father Ajay Chautala out of jail for campaigning, he added.
Ajay Chautala’s wife, Naina Chautala however turned emotional during the election campaigning on Tuesday.
While addressing a gathering to seek votes for Digvijay, his mother Naina Chautala said, “I am shocked that people can say such things about their own family members. I am hurt after reading today’s newspapers, she said.
As she could not hold back her tears, Naina said she did not want to cry and had remained strong in the past four years. I am just supporting my sons and want you to vote for Digvijay, she added.
Notably, the INLD is struggling to retain its Jind assembly seat, won by late MLA Hari Chand Middha, by defeating BJP’s candidate with a small margin of 2,257 votes in 2014 assembly polls.
According to the political analysts, a positive outcome or even more votes to JJP than INLD in Jind bypoll will be a major setback to the INLD, which is the main opposition party in Haryana.
