The feud in the Chautala clan — the first family of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) — reached its crescendo on Saturday as former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala’s elder son Ajay Chautala announced the formation of a new political party, whose name is expected to be revealed on December 9.
“I hand over the INLD and the spectacles (party symbol) to my younger brother (Abhay Chautala) as a gift,” said Ajay Chautala, while addressing his supporters in Jind.
The development comes days after INLD patriarch OP Chautala expelled three family members from the party-first his grandsons Hisar MP Dushyant and Digvijay, and then his son Ajay-for alleged “anti-party activities”.
Ajay’s wife and Dabwali MLA, Naina Chautala , who dared the party to have her expelled as well, has been spared from any disciplinary action as of now.
The INLD is Haryana’s main opposition party. Dushyant and Digvijay Chautala are the great-grandsons of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal.
Ajay Chautala, who is facing a 10-year jail term along with father OP Chautala since 2013 in a teachers’ recruitment scam, said that the new party will hold a rally in Jind on December 9. Ajay and his brother Abhay Chautala, who is Leader of opposition in Haryana Assembly and INLD’s MLA from Ellenabad, held parallel meetings on Saturday.
Besides his sons, Dushyant and Digvijay, MLAs Anoop Dhanak, Rajdeep Phogat and several party leaders attended Ajay’s meeting at Jind.
Ajay, who came out from Tihar jail on parole recently, was expelled from the party on November 14 for “anti-party activities” after he remained adamant on holding the rebel meeting and rally in Jind. Ajay was also removed as the secretary general of the party.
At the rally, Ajay’s son Dushyant, who was also expelled from the party, said that he “didn’t want to go back to the party that threw them out”. Following a parallel meeting of INLD legislators and leaders in Chandigarh on Saturday, Abhay Chautala, the younger son of OP Chautala, said the developments of the day had clearly shown where affiliations of party leaders were.
“I have no ambitions to be the Chief Minister. I tried my best to unite the party leadership,” Abhay Chautala said while talking to the mediapersons here.
Abhay also hit out at his elder brother, saying those who staked claim over the party have themselves left.
Notably, INLD chief OP Chautala and his elder son, Ajay, were convicted in the JBT (junior basic teacher) recruitment scam in January 2013. Both were sentenced to 10 years in prison by a Central Bureau of Investigation court in Delhi. The father and son have been barred from contesting elections due to the conviction.
The INLD has been managed by Abhay Chautala since then. After being out of power since 2005, the INLD had in April this year announced to join hands with the BSP. The INLD had announced to contest 2019 Lok Sabha polls and assembly polls in Haryana in alliance with the BSP.