Mixed bag for political dynasties in Haryana

It was a mixed bag for political dynasties in Haryana where the BJP triumphed and is now all set to  form the government, for the first ever time on its own strength.

One of the main issues on which Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP campaigned aggressively in the run-up to the Haryana assembly elections was to put an end the rule of political dynasties in the state.

Though the state's electorate has vested the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with power, to the candidates from political families, it has given a mixed bag.

The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), which was trying for a comeback in this election after being out of power since 2005, will have to sit in opposition for five more years. In fact, the INLD has been reduced from its tally of 31 seats in the 2009 assembly polls to just 19 seats.

Representing the political dynasty of former deputy prime minister Devi Lal, the INLD will hardly have any reasons to rejoice after the announcement of election results Sunday.
While two members of the family, INLD president and former chief minister Om Prakash Chautala's (who is the son of Devi Lal) younger son Abhay Chautala and daughter-in-law Naina Chautala (wife of second son, Ajay Chautala) won their assembly seats, Dushyant Chautala, Ajay and Naina Chautala's son and Om Prakash's grandson, lost from the high-profile Uchana Kalan in Jind district.

Dushyant, 26, who was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Hisar constituency in May this year, was defeated by Premlata Singh, wife of Congressman-turned BJP leader Birender Singh. The Singhs come from the family of social reformer Sir Chhotu Ram.

"I am thankful to the people of Sirsa district who helped the INLD win all five assembly seats in Sirsa," said Abhay Chautala, looking upset about the INLD failing to come to power yet again.

In the family of former chief minister Bhajan Lal too, two victories and a loss on the same day may not have brought much cheer either.

While Bhajan Lal's younger son Kuldeep Bishnoi, who is the president of the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC), and his wife Renuka Bishnoi won from their strongholds of Adampur and Hansi in Hisar district, Bhajan Lal's elder son and former deputy chief minister Chander Mohan  was defeated from the Nalwa assembly segment.

From the family of former chief minister Bansi Lal, his son Ranbir Singh Mahendra, a former president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), lost from the Badhra assembly  constituency. But Bansi Lal's daughter-in-law Kiran Chaudhary retained her Tosham seat comfortably.

Union minister Sushma Swaraj's sister, Vandana Sharma, who was a BJP candidate, lost from the Safidon seat by a small margin after a bitter contest.

Controversial former minister Gopal Kanda, who floated the Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP) before the elections, and his brother Gobind Kanda too lost from the Sirsa and Rania assembly constituencies.

Former union minister Venod Sharma, who remained a close confidant of outgoing chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda for nine years from March 2005 but floated his Haryana Jan Chetna Party before the polls recently, too lost from the Ambala city assembly segment.

Sharma too comes from a Chandigarh-based political family with strong Congress connections. Sharma's wife Shakti Rani, too lost from the Kalka constituency.