Haryana: Once sworn arch-rivals, Lal scions make Adampur bypoll contest keen

Tribune News Service

Deepender Deswal

Hisar, November 1

The changing equations between the families of once arch-rivals — former Deputy PM Devi Lal and former CM Bhajan Lal — have turned the upcoming Adampur Assembly bypoll into an interesting contest.

Scions of the Devi Lal and Bhajan Lal clans, Deputy CM Dushyant Chautala and BJP leader Kuldeep Bishnoi, who shared stage for the first time while campaigning in Adampur yesterday, even recalled the rivalry between their families.

Another prominent political family of the state is that of former CM Bansi Lal. Apart from Adampur, family members of the Lal troika had slugged it out against one another in the Bhiwani and Hisar Lok Sabha constituencies. While Adampur remained loyal to Bhajan Lal, his son Kuldeep Bishnoi and grandson Bhavya had to face defeat in the Hisar Lok Sabha seat in 2014 and 2019, respectively. One of the interesting electoral battles took place between Kuldeep Bishnoi, Ajay Chautala (grandson of Devi Lal) and Surender Singh (son of Bansi Lal) in Bhiwani during the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, which Bishnoi won by 24,404 votes.

The rivalry between the three Lals started right after Haryana’s formation in 1966. The political careers of these leaders started almost simultaneously.

Bansi Lal became the CM after the Assembly polls in 1968 and Bhajan Lal served as his minister. Bhajan Lal too contested his first Assembly election from Adampur in 1968 as a Congress leader. Devi Lal contested against Bhajan Lal for the first time as an Independent in 1972, but lost. Later, Bansi Lal had to quit the Congress, when the latter joined hands with Bhajan Lal after the 1991 Assembly polls, and formed the Haryana Vikas Party (HVP). Bansi Lal’s son Surender Singh fought against Bhajan Lal on the HVP ticket in Adampur, but lost.

Devi Lal’s son Ranjit Singh Chautala also tried his luck on the Congress ticket in the 2008 byelection when Bhajan Lal quit the Congress and formed the Haryana Janhit Congress, but lost.

The INLD, headed by Devi Lal’s son OP Chautala, has never gone with any rival Lal family and even fielded a separate candidate, Kurda Ram Nambardar, in the Adampur bypoll as well. Political commentator Pawan Kumar Bansal said there were some interesting twists within the families as well. He said when Bhajan Lal formed a separate party, his one son Chander Mohan remained with the Congress and another (Kuldeep Bishoi) joined him.

Similarly, Devi Lal’s son Ranjit Singh stayed in the Congress even though his another son Om Prakash Chautala was its main rival. Again, when Bansi Lal left the Congress to form the HVP, one of his sons (Ranbir Mahendra) remained in the Congress. “The Lal troika and their heirs have always remained political rivals. So much so that when both Bansi Lal and Bhajan Lal were in the Congress, the party remained a divided house,” Bansal said.

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