JJP finalises 4 names for poll

Deepender Deswal

Tribune News Service

Hisar, August 5

To regain the lost political strength after its dismal performance in the recently held Lok Sabha elections, the JJP has finalised the names of four candidates for the Assembly elections, which include two members of the Chautala family.

The party leaders have confirmed that party supremo Ajay Chautala has given approval to the names of four candidates — former Deputy CM Dushyant Chautala from Uchana in Jind district, his younger brother Digvijay Chautala from Dabwali in Sirsa district, sitting MLA from Julana (Jind) Amarjit Dhanda and Rajdeep Phogat from Charkhi Dadri.

JJP spokesperson Deepkamal Saharan said there are about 20 names which have been given the go-ahead by the party leadership which include these four names. He said the party has restructured its district-level organisation and is now in the process of reconstituting the Assembly-level bodies of all districts.

The party, which contested all 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana, has suffered severe setback in the Lok Sabha elections and could secure less than one per cent (.88%) votes. The JJP, which was founded in December 2018, managed to put up an impressive show when it won 10 seats in the 2019 Assembly elections in Haryana. As the party joined hands with the BJP, which fell short of the majority mark in 2019, Dushyant Chautala served as the Deputy Chief Minister in the Manohar Lal Khattar-led Haryana Government for about four and a half years.

However, its poor performance reflected that its voter has drifted away from the party, leaving the party leader to rethink on its past decisions and future strategy. With seven out of 10 party MLAs keeping a distance from the campaign in the Lok Sabha elections, the JJP failed to even secure its deposit on any of the 10 seats. Party supremo Ajay Chautala’s wife Naina Chautala (mother of Dushyant and Digvijay) too put up a miserable performance in the Hisar Lok Sabha constituency.

Political experts said party leader Dushyant Chautala cannot stay away from the poll battle. Thus, it was almost confirmed that he would join the fray in Uchana again. For his brother Digvijay, Dabwali Assembly seat — which is the home segment of the Chautala family — is the best bet.