On 12 June 2017 ,the Parliamentary Committee on Commerce had invited the then Foreign Secretary Dr. S.Jaishankar (presently External Affairs minister), to hear his views on the subject of ‘Trade with ASEAN’. As per prevailing practice, Rajya Sabha Secretariat officials of which I was one, prepare questionnaire for Chairman and Members of the Committee, on the subject matter for each meeting. It is, of course, up to the Committee Members to judge the suitability of question(s) supplied by the Secretariat.
A young Lok Sabha MP had on that day, asked a very pointed question in chaste English “Secretary, External affairs has just said that the Prime Minister has changed about 7000 policies in the country in the past two and half years.I would like to know as to what steps has India taken in the last three years to increase that 70 billion dollars to an ‘X’ amount in the coming years and how do we compete with China and Japan where they are still above 250 and 300 billion dollars of trade and we are at 70 billion dollars. Out of these 7000 policy changes, what change of policies has the Government taken, specifically, to increase trade with ASEAN countries in terms of export and imports?”
It was Dushyant Chautala. Clearly, the question was extempore. Being from Haryana, I was a bit surprised that a well informed question was put by a member from a pure political background.
As a matter of fact, such technical questions are generally asked by members who have strong financial background. It was on that day I felt that he is a leader of substance and a different stuff in Chautala clan.
Whether one views him from a distance or from close quarters, he has proved something different every time. Be it opting to form his own political party instead of fighting a legal battle with his uncle Abhay Chautala over the reins of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) or not accepting the reconciliation requests of biradari for unification of the family.
He was perhaps clear in his mind that traditional way of politics will not work with the tactics adopted by the rival political parties in Haryana political theatre. Some different approach was need of the hour to fight these opponents.
His main job was to make Jats feel that he is the unquestioned heir of his great grandfather Chaudhary Devi Lal which was considered by political pundits an unthinkable thought. But he continued his journey bit by bit.
First task was to find a catchy word for the proposed party. Cleverly, Jannayak—the word used by masses for Chaudhary Devi Lal—was chosen for the party. His outfit Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) came into existence in December, 2018. And its first litmus test was Jind bye election for Haryana Assembly.
Digvijay Singh, younger brother of Dushyant, contested the election as an independent candidate backed by JJP as its registration as a political party was under consideration of Election Commission.
This bye election was a matter of prestige and survival for both JJP and INLD. Result shocked all as JJP polled 29% votes of total votes cast and secured second spot. JJP was not disappointed with the loss but was rather jubilant by the fact that not only Congress’ heavyweight, most visible face of the party, (always sharing dais with Rahul Gandhi) Randeep Surjewala, finished third but also that the INLD candidate Umed Singh Redhu lost his security deposit. Message was crystal clear that Jats have accepted Dushyant as replacement of INLD.
Perhaps the old Hindi film song from the movie ‘Milan’ might have been in the minds of committed voters of INLD...”Naye rishton ne toda vo nata purana...”
Entry of JJP as a force to reckon with in Haryana Politics was writing on the wall and a new beginning had taken place. Dushyant continued to be visible, steering the party as the General Elections 2019 for Lok Sabha were just few months away.JJP fielded candidates in seven constituencies leaving three for AAP. However, BJP sweeping all the ten seats didn’t deter him from the ultimate objective of making a formidable presence in Haryana Assembly.
Rest is not only history but also current affair as well. Old stalwarts in the state politics would not have imagined in their distant dreams that a ten months old Dushyant built party would win ten seats forcing even some of them to bite the dust.
Dushyant was declared as ‘Kingmaker’ by the media but he could smartly smell that he was not. Seven independents had already extended their support to BJP.
Knowing well what happened to Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) of Kuldeep Bishnoi in 2009 and the purchasing calibre and capacity of parties waiting in the wings, a slight delay in taking decision might have been repetition of history.
In the circumstances, Dushyant took a quick decision and chose to ally with the BJP. As expected, it evoked a mixed response. But by and large Jats appeared to have supported the move.
Now the moot question. What forced him to prefer BJP over INC? Sonia Gandhi, had already, when the assembly results were pouring in, offered him CM position of Haryana.
Had he accepted the offer, some independents might have favoured him especially the Jats. Perhaps the recent happenings of Karnataka were fresh in his mind.
The scenario could have played out like this: Governer might have invited Manohar Lal Khattar being leader of single largest party. Unable to garner support of required numbers of MLAs to prove majority in the House, he might have resigned like Yeduraapa.
Dushyant might have been sworn in as CM, the Kumarswamy of Haryana. Bhupinder Singh Hooda would have become the Siddaramaiah of Haryana. Then there are other actors in INC who are sitting in the wings wearing full costumes and with up-to-date make up waiting for the enactment of the play “Tum bhi CM, Hum bhi CM,Sub hain CM.” Dushyant preferred not to be part of this nautanki.
The other option was to stay alone for next five years. This appeared to be very simple but had far reaching irreversible ramifications. Had BJP sailed through winning confidence on the floor of the assembly, the risk of spilt in his party was very high. Maybe, as discussed above, it might have been repeat of 2009, when five out of six HJC MLAs declared their support for Hooda Government. This scenario was not imagined by Kuldeep Bishnoi but Dushyant could foresee it with the benefit of hindsight. All said and done, ‘family first’ factor might have played a major role in entire scenario.
It cannot be termed as a mere coincidence that his father Ajay Chautala, who is serving a jail term in connection with a teacher’s recruitment scam during INLD tenure, was granted a furlough from Tihar jail for two weeks the day after his alliance with BJP was announced.
It would be too early to predict what is the road ahead for Dushyant. Needless to say, there is going to be a Common Minimum Programme, both BJP and JJP will try to implement the same in letter and spirit.
However, as Dushyant appears to be a mature politician and not as ‘Bachcha Party’ he will take a call, rather will have no other option but to take a call, after three years or so with regard to continuance with the alliance or to find something new what others cannot imagine. And, mature politicians do not forget history. If they do so, they become history.
Therefore, a historical fact must have started worrying him that three political parties of Haryana viz. Haryana Vikas Party of Bansi Lal, HJC of Bhajan Lal and INLD of OP Chautala had prepoll alliance with BJP.
They lost their existence or are on the verge of extinction. The only difference is that Dushyant has post poll alliance with BJP. He is still required to ponder as to whether he is to worry on this count or not? Be that as it may, a harsh reality is that his great grandfather Chaudhary Devi Lal despite being an undisputed Jat leader of masses had always been dependent on Jansangh, later BJP for the support of non-Jat voters.
Hence, Dushyant will have to evolve a strategy where he is acceptable to Jats as well as non-Jats as a new breed of politician who can take Haryana to new heights, which it deserves. His time starts now!
(The writer, a resident of Haryana, is a retired Joint Secretary of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat, New Delhi)
