Haryana’s regional outfit, Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), which won 19 seats in the 2014 assembly elections, has been virtually wiped out in this election. However, less than 12-month-old Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) emerged as a key player by winning 10 seats in a 90-member assembly. JJP’s party symbol incidentally is the ‘Key’. Interestingly, the original party INLD almost diminished, but the third and fourth generations of its founder and Devi Lal survived by winning their respective seats.
"I believe the keys are in the hands of the JJP," Dushyant Chautala said earlier on Thursday as counting trends clearly showed the BJP was set to win less than half the 90 seats and the Congress making rapid gains.”
Dushyant Chautala, the great grandson of the former deputy Prime Minister late Devi Lal and grandson of jailed INLD leader OP Chautala, who led the newly formed JJP in 2018 won from Uchana Kalan in Jind district by defeating sitting legislator Prem Lata, 59, wife of former Union Minister Birender Singh. JJP contested all 90 assembly seats.
Dushyant, who was MP in 2014, is the rising force in Haryana among the politically diminished Chautala clan of Devi Lal’s state party INLD. The INLD which suffered setback in the recent past ahead of Assembly election as its leaders shifted to BJP and JJP won the lone Ellenabad seat in Sirsa. Interestingly, the original party diminished, but the third and fourth generations of its founder and Devi Lal survived by winning their respective seats. The Chautala clan who won the elections is Dushyant and his mother Naina Chautala and his uncle and Devi Lal''s grandson Abhay Singh Chautala.
Dushyant’'s mother Naina Chautala won from Badhra in Bhiwani district on JJP ticket. The BJP fielded Devi Lal''s grandson Aditya Devi Lal from Dabwali in Sirsa district, but he lost the seat to Congress’ Amit Sihag. JJP chief Dushyant Chautala held the ‘Key’ to power in Haryana where the ruling BJP has fared poorly and the Congress under Bhupinder Singh Hooda has surged ahead.