Gurugram: Less than a month after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) severed tied with the Dushyant Chautala-led Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) — amid the change of guard in Haryana from Manohar Lal Khattar to Nayab Singh Saini — Ajay Singh Chautala, JJP president and Dushyant’s father, expressed his willingness Monday to rejoin parent party Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) should his father and INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala extend an invitation.
“Kal bulayenge toh hum kal chale jayenge (if he invites us tomorrow, we will go tomorrow itself),” Ajay said at Charkhi Dadri while campaigning for Rao Bahadur Singh — the only candidate the JJP has announced so far — in the Bhiwani-Mahendragarh seat.
On the efforts to merge the JJP with the INLD, he told the media, “Many people are making efforts in this direction, but initiative has to be taken by Chautala Saab (Om Prakash Chautala), as he is our elder.”
Ajay’s olive branch to his father and estranged younger brother and INLD general secretary Abhay Singh Chautala — with whom he first clashed in 2014 over election ticket distribution — came after JJP’s state president Nishan Singh quit the party Monday along with JJP national general secretary and Narnaul municipal council chief Kamlesh Saini, JJP women wing general secretary Mamta Kataria, and JJP Barwala MLA Jogi Ram Sihag.
Nishan Singh told ThePrint that he would announce his future course of action within two to three days.
Moreover, 50 JJP functionaries led by former MLA Virendra Pal, also joined the Congress the same day and were welcomed by former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Haryana Congress chief Udai Bhan into the fold.
Meanwhile, farmers angry with the BJP-JJP over how the parties reacted to their protests have been stopping JJP leaders from entering their villages.
A sign outside Khidwali village in Haryana
Hundreds of farmers carrying black flags Tuesday stopped Ajay Singh Chautala’s motorcade outside Bhiwani’s Kungar village. Ajay tried reasoning with the farmers, but they refused to listen. Eventually, the JJP leaders turned back without holding any meeting in the village.
Over the past week, Dushyant has been stopped twice on his campaign trail — at Gamra village in Hisar and Nada village in the Narnaund assembly segment of Hisar district.
Ajay’s wife, Badhra MLA Naina Singh Chautala, has even apologised to the farmers and requested them not to oppose her son Dushyant.
“He (Dushyant) didn’t have any power to stop whatever was being done to farmers by the BJP. He rather got farmers MSP on 14 crops and ensured that the price of their crops went to their accounts,” she said.
Speaking to ThePrint Tuesday, Abhay Singh Chautala said his brother Ajay should first tell people why he had left the INLD in the first place.
“Why is he asking Chautala Saab to invite him? Chautala Saab never asked him to leave. He was in jail at that time. He should first explain the reason why he left the INLD,” Abhay said. “If he repents, he must first apologise for his actions. Had he not deserted the party, the INLD would have been in power in 2019.”
He said that Ajay and his family were now eager to return to the INLD because their workers were leaving the JJP, and angry farmers were not allowing them to enter any village.
ThePrint reached both Ajay Singh Chautala and Dushyant Chautala via calls. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
Also read: No point working with Khattar when there’s no faith, says former Haryana home minister Anil Vij
JJP’s foundation and journey so far
Dushyant Chautala founded JJP on 9 December 2018 after he and his younger brother, Digvijay Singh Chautala, separated from the INLD.
The party was formed following the suspension of Dushyant and Digvijay Chautala from INLD by their grandfather and party chief Om Prakash Chautala. The reason was a ruckus caused by their supporters at a rally commemorating the 105th birthday of Chaudhary Devi Lal, the founder of INLD and Om Prakash’s father, held in Gohana on 25 September, 2018. Chaudhary Devi Lal had previously served as deputy prime minister in the V.P. Singh and Chandra Shekhar governments.
When Dushyant founded the JJP, Ajay Singh Chautala and Om Prakash Chautala were in jail in a teachers’ recruitment scam case. Ajay, however, supported his son.
The JJP drew a blank in the 2019 parliamentary election — the first the party contested after its founding. Dushyant Chautala was a sitting INLD MP from Hisar but also lost his seat.
Later, in October of the same year, the JJP won 10 seats in the 2019 assembly election. The state’s ruling party BJP, which won 40 seats, fell short of a majority in the 90-member assembly. The two parties entered into a post-poll alliance and formed a government with Dushyant Chautala as the deputy chief minister.
On March 12 this year, the BJP dropped the JJP after it insisted on contesting two seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha election while the BJP was unwilling to share a single seat.
Now, the JJP has announced its decision to contest all 10 seats in Haryana but is in a difficult situation on more than one front.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
Also read: What’s Dushyant Chautala’s politics? JJP to contest all seats in Haryana but keeps door open for BJP
