Chandigarh: BJP leader Aditya Devi Lal, the grandson of former deputy prime minister late Devi Lal, who quit the saffron party and joined the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) on Sunday, was fielded by the party from Dabwali for the October 5 assembly polls in the state.
Prior to joining the INLD, Aditya took the blessings of his uncle and party supremo Om Prakash Chautala, a five-time chief minister. He joined the party in presence of party leader Abhay Chautala, Om Prakash Chautala’s younger son.
Aditya, a prominent face of the ruling BJP had recently quit as Haryana Marketing Board chairman and is the second from the Chautala clan to quit the saffron party within a week, the other being state’s energy and jails minister Ranjit Chautala, also a son of Devi Lal.
Aditya had joined BJP in 2014 and was made chairman of the Haryana state cooperative agriculture and rural development bank in 2019. In 2020 he was made BJP Sirsa district president. He had unsuccessfully contested from Dabwali and lost to Congress’ Amit Sihag. While Adtiya had mustered over 51,000 votes in 2019, the INLD which had fought separately got over 18,000 votes. This time, Aditya is likely to spring a surprise as the party has this election an alliance with BSP.
The former deputy prime minister Devi Lal, had four sons – Om Prakash Chautala, Partap, Ranjit Singh and Jagdish Chautala. Aditya is the son of the last named.
With Adtiya’s entry, interestingly, now the stage seems to be set for a battle between two uncles and a nephew – trio from the Chautala clan – for Dabwali seat.
At the hustings, Aditya faces INLD’s splinter group Jannayak Janta Party’s (JJP’s) Digvijay Chautala and Congress’ Amit Sihag. The INLD had suffered a crippling split in 2018 ahead of 2019 assembly polls when Chautala Senior had expelled his elder son Ajay and latter’s sons Dushyant and Digvijay from the party who subsequently formed the JJP and won 10 seats in said 2019 polls. The INLD could win only one seat.
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While Digvijay is from JJP, Amit Sihag who is Congress’ nominee, is son of K V Singh, also from the clan. Amit, like Aditya, is also uncle to Digvijay in relations.
Speaking on the occasion Abhay accused the BJP leaders as opportunists and held that the INLD would win the Dabwali as well as others seats falling in Sirsa district – INLD’s citadel - hands down.
