Eyeing Jat votebank, JJP to hold Devi Lal Jayanti in Rajasthan

Deepender Deswal

Hisar, September 9

With an eye on the upcoming Rajasthan Assembly polls, the JJP, headed by Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala, has planned to celebrate Devi Lal Jayanti at Sikar in Rajasthan on September 25 to mark the 110th birth anniversary of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal.

Devi Lal had won the Sikar Lok Sabha seat in Rajasthan in 1989, when he became the Deputy Prime Minister. Devi Lal, who had won both Rohtak in Haryana and Sikar in Rajasthan, had opted to resign from Rohtak to retain the Sikar seat.

Just five years after its formation, the JJP’s decision to embark on expansion indicates the party’s ambitious plans. Though the JJP is in coalition with the BJP in Haryana, it has not indicated any coalition plans for Rajasthan so far.

Dushyant Chautala visited Jaipur, Nagaur and Bikaner during his three-day Rajasthan visit, which concluded today. The party has already opened an office in Bikaner and has started activating its supporters to mobilise gathering on September 25.

Pawan Kumar Bansal, a political expert, said the JJP’s decision to make a foray into Rajasthan politics would serve two purposes. “The JJP’s Rajasthan expansion plans aim at helping the BJP in the crucial Rajasthan Assembly polls, along with increasing its political weight as a coalition partner in Haryana. Dushyant’s father and JJP supremo Ajay Singh Chautala had been MLA in Rajasthan twice — from Danta Ramgarh in 1989 and Nohar in 1993. The focus is on Jat votes. Besides, the party’s expansion out of Haryana will also increase the political bargaining power of the JJP in Haryana,” he stated.

The rise of JJP

• The JJP came into existence in 2018 after a split in the family of a former CM and Devi Lal’s son, Om Prakash Chautala, when his sons Ajay Chautala and Abhay Chautala parted ways. The JJP, headed by Ajay and his son Dushyant, won 10 seats in the 2019 Assembly elections.
• The party joined hands with the BJP in a post-poll alliance to form the government in Haryana, with Dushyant serving as the Deputy CM in the BJP-JJP government.
• The then CM Om Prakash Chautala-led INLD had also attempted expansion in Rajasthan and UP in the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, but did not fare well.
• The INLD has decided to mark Devi Lal jayanti in Kaithal by holding a public rally, which is likely to be attended by several leaders from across the country.