Chandigarh: Rania assembly segment is all set to witness an electoral battle between two members of Chautala clan - Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) nominee Arjun Chautala and his granduncle Ranjit Chautala of the ruling BJP.
Haryana has assembly election on October 5 and the votes would be counted on October 8.
Arjun is son of senior INLD leader Abhay Chautala and grandson of the former chief minister and party supremo Om Prakash Chautala while Ranjit, who was Haryana energy and jails minister, is younger brother of the latter.
The INLD in its second list of candidates, declared Arjun as its candidate from Rania segment in Sirsa district, on late Monday evening, while Ranjit, who had won from Rania as an independent MLA in 2019 and had later joined BJP, declared last week he would contest from the said seat ``with or without BJP’’.
Ranjit had resigned following his nomination as BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate from Hisar; he lost to Congress’ Jai Prakash.
Arjun fought his maiden election from Kurukshetra Lok Sabha seat in 2019 in which he finished fifth with about 60,000 votes, losing his deposit. This seat was won by current chief minister Nayab Saini.
It may be recalled that INLD-BSP alliance has already declared 14 nominees, while other parties including BJP and Congress have yet not declared their candidates.
Notably, Sirsa district is the citadel of Chautala family - hence the battle has evoked huge interest amongst poll watchers; as right from former deputy prime minister late Devi Lal, his son and former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala to his sons Ajay and Abhay Chautala who too began their political innings in the state from Sirsa district. Devi Lal’s another son Ranjit was first elected MLA from Rori segment in 1987 and from Rania in 2019. His other son Pratap Chautala was elected from Ellenabad in 1967. Devi Lal’s fourth son Jagdish did not enter politics. Karan Chautala is the elder brother of Arjun.
Interestingly, the clan’s first female member Naina Chautala, wife of Ajay Chautala and mother of Jannayak Janta Party leader Dushyant Chautala, was also elected for the first time from Dabwali segment in Sirsa in 2014.
