Dabwali assembly constituency is poised for a high-stakes electoral battle in October 5 Haryana Assembly elections as three key contestants from the clan of the legendary farmer leader and former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal are up against each other. This assembly segment comes under the jurisdictional limit of Sirsa Lok Sabha Constituency where senior Congress leader Kumari Selja had recently defeated Ashok Tanwar of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with a margin of about 2.68 lakh votes.
Besides rising unemployment due to lack of industries and inadequate infrastructures including irrigation facilities, the issue of easy availability of narcotics (drugs) emerged as a key electoral issue in this assembly seat.
Situated on the Punjab-Haryana border, the Dabwali constituency boasts a significant Sikh voter base and is regarded as a stronghold of the Chautala family. Notably, the Chautala village lies within the Dabwali assembly seat, which has approximately two lakh voters.
From the crucial seat, Congress party has fielded sitting MLA Amit Sihag and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) has nominated Aditya Devi Lal against Digvijay Chautala of Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) from this seat. Digvijay is the nephew of Aditya and Amit Sihag.
Aditya is Devi Lal’s grandson, while Digvijay is great-grandson of the former Deputy Prime Minister. Amit Sihag is also from Devi Lal’s clan in Chautala village, with his father being the uncle of Ajay and Abhay Chautala.
Aditya, who is the son of Devi Lal’s younger son Jagdish Chander, had left the BJP ahead of the beginning of nomination process and joined the INLD. Earlier, he had served as district president of Sirsa BJP and had also served as chairman of Haryana State Agriculture Marketing Board (HSAMB). In 2019 assembly polls, Aditya, then a BJP nominee, was defeated by Amit Sihag of Congress by a margin of around 15,000 votes. In August 2020, Aditya was made the president of the BJP’s Sirsa district unit. Interestingly, 47-year-old Aditya had defeated Abhay Chautala’s wife Kanta Chautala in Zila Parishad elections in 2016.
So far, INLD won seven times in this constituency, while Congress has managed to win five times.
A look at Dabwali’s electoral history shows that this seat had mostly elected the INLD or erstwhile Samata party or Lok Dal candidates in the total 13 assembly elections held since 1967. Dabwali seat was also represented by Digvijay Chautala’s father Ajay Singh Chautala in 2009 and his mother Naina Chautala in 2014 as INLD MLAs. Later, Ajay Singh formed his own outfit, JJP, in December 2018 after a split in the INLD.
In the 13 assembly elections held till now, INLD won seven times, Congress five times, and an independent candidate had registered victory only once. INLD held the Dabwali seat from 2000 to 2019. However, in the 2019 elections, the constituency saw a significant shift when BJP’s Aditya lost to Congress’ Amit Sihag.
The voter turnout was high, with 1.57 lakh out of total 1.99 lakh registered voters casting their ballots, resulting in a turnout of 78.85 per cent. Sihag had secured 66,885 votes while Aditya got 51,238 votes. JJP’s Sarvjit Singh Masita secured 23,002 votes. In 2014 polls, Naina Chautala won the election by securing 68,029 votes followed by Congress’ Kamalvir Singh with 59,484 votes, and BJP’s Dev Kumar Sharma finishing third with 22,261 votes.
Cong Terms INLD as “BJP’s B-team”; Says JJP Has No Ground
Sitting MLA of the predominantly rural segment and Congress nominee Amit Sihag, considered as the strongest contender, is banking upon the role of his father Dr KV Singh — a veteran Congressman who built a political base against his cousin and former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, besides his direct connection with the electorate. He termed the INLD as the “B team of the BJP”, while claiming that the JJP held no ground in the area.
Sihag, talking to reporters, said: “People will repose faith in me for the second consecutive term. I am pursuing a political battle started by my father against the autocratic style of politics practiced by Chautala and his sons for decades. The candidates of the INLD and JJP did nothing even when they were part of the BJP government.”
INLD candidate Aditya is a turncoat, who stayed with the BJP for 10 years before switching sides early this month after the saffron party denied him a ticket. “I am meeting people to seek votes in the name of Tau Devi Lal whose pro-farmers political ideology is being pursued on the guidance of former CM OP Chautala,” said Aditya.
JJP candidate Digvijay Chautala is the younger brother of former Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala. Digvijay’s father Ajay Chautala, founder of the JJP, earlier remained a parliamentarian and MLA before he was convicted in teachers’ recruitment scam.
Digvijay, talking to reporters, said: “The INLD has a vote bank of the affluent classes whereas the underprivileged section acknowledges the leadership of (his father and the JJP patron) Dr Ajay Singh Chautala. The JJP will again play an important role in the new government and we are committed to the welfare of the poor and working class. I have opened libraries from my personal resources and people appreciate our vision.”
Admitting facing criticism of going with the BJP, Digvijay said that he is confident that people will vote for JJP again. Dushyant, during his deputy chief ministership, worked a lot for the people, especially for this region, he added.
Political observers believed that Dabwali assembly election is shaping up to be a highly competitive and closely watched battle, with multiple candidates from prominent political families and parties vying for dominance. It is equally true that the Chautala family, deeply rooted in Dabwali’s political landscape, is at the centre of this contest. The INLD and the JJP candidates are facing flak in the agrarian-dominating segment of Sirsa Lok Sabha seat of their previous political association with the BJP. It will be interesting to see how voters exercise their vote here,” observers added.
