INLD’s Abhay Chautala faces tough battle against Congress in Ellenabad

Anil Kakkar

sir, Updated At : 08:45 AM Sep 27, 2024 IST

INLD’s Abhay Singh Chautala campaigns while sitting on a combine harvester in the Narwana constituency.

Abhay Singh Chautala, a senior leader of the INLD and the current MLA from Ellenabad is facing one of his toughest electoral challenges. Despite forming an alliance with the BSP and securing the support of Gopal Kanda’s HLP, Chautala is up against Congress candidate Bharat Singh Beniwal in a direct face-off. This contest is especially significant since Chautala has previously defeated Beniwal, but this time, the situation on the ground seems more complex.

Chautala has held the Ellenabad seat since 2010 and before that, his father Om Prakash Chautala won in 2009. The INLD has maintained a stronghold over this seat since 2000, even when the party faced its worst electoral performance across the state in 2019. Back then, Abhay Chautala was the only INLD candidate to secure a seat in the Haryana Assembly, winning Ellenabad once again. In the 2021 by-election, following his resignation in support of the farmers’ protest, Abhay narrowly defeated BJP’s Gobind Kanda by 6,739 votes.

However, the current election landscape is different. BJP candidate Amir Chand Mehta, who has historically performed poorly in Ellenabad, appears weak this time as well. In 2009, he managed just 3,618 votes against Om Prakash Chautala’s 64,567 votes. This time, if Mehta’s vote count remains low, it could give an edge to Congress’ Bharat Singh Beniwal, consolidating anti-Chautala votes in his favour.

In the previous elections, Abhay often faced tough three-way contests against Congress and BJP candidates. In 2014, Chautala won with 69,162 votes, while BJP’s Pawan Beniwal got 57,623 votes and Congress’ Ramesh Bhadu got 11,491. The 2019 elections was even closer. Chautala received 57,055 votes, BJP’s Pawan Beniwal got 45,133 and Congress’s Bharat Beniwal got 35,383. In the 2021 by-election, Chautala won again with 65,992 votes, defeating BJP’s Gobind Kanda, who got 59,253 votes, while Pawan Beniwal, now with the Congress, got 20,904 votes.

Chautala has always benefited from these three-way contests because his vote base stays steady. The third candidate often splits the votes against him, making it hard for the second candidate to win. But in 2024, things look different. The BJP is looking weaker in Ellenabad and Congress’s Bharat Singh Beniwal is giving Chautala a strong challenge. If BJP’s Ameer Chand Mehta gets fewer votes, like in 2009, the Congress could benefit from the anti-Chautala votes.

Chautala is still confident because of his loyal vote bank. However, an interesting change this time is that Pawan Beniwal, who ran against Chautala in the last three elections, has now joined the INLD and is campaigning with him in Ellenabad.

While Chautala talks about winning easily and even becoming the Chief Minister, some people in the INLD believe the election is going to be tough. Chautala now has more responsibilities, including helping Gopal Kanda in Sirsa and he’s spending more time in other constituencies. This means he’s paying less attention to Ellenabad and some think he should focus more on his own seat.