Haryana Assembly Election 2024: With barely a month left for the 2024 Haryana Assembly polls, the BJP could be looking at a major crisis. State Power Minister Chaudhary Ranjit Singh Chautala’s resolve to contest the Rania assembly seat by any means necessary could give the BJP a huge headache. While the BJP’s NDA partner Gopal Kanda-led Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP) announced a candidate for the Rania Assembly seat last week, Ranjit Singh Chautala’s decision could hurt the chances of the NDA ahead of the polls.
Haryana Election: Why Is Ranjit Singh Chautala’s Decision A Headache For BJP?
Gopal Kanda, a former Congress legislator, floated the HLP in 2014. Gopal Kanda’s brother Govind joined the BJP and unsuccessfully contested the Ellenabad bypoll seat. He lost to Abhay Chautala of the INLD, the HLP’s former ally. Govind Kanda in 2019 had lost the Rania to Ranjit Singh Chautala, who was an independent back then.
Ranjeet Singh Chautala, meanwhile, decided to forego the Rania Assembly seat in favour of a Lok Sabha Entry from Hisar. However, he lost to Congress’s Jai Parkash.
This time, the HLP has announced that Govind Kanda’s son Dhawal would be the party’s candidate for the Rania Assembly seat. However, on Monday, Ranjit Singh Chautala, son of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal, announced that he would be contesting the Rania seat. Chaudhary Ranjit Singh Chautala said, “If BJP gives me a ticket from Rania then it is fine, otherwise the party should look out for itself. I will definitely contest the election from Rania and will win too. I am the son of Chaudhary Devi Lal. I have my own support base in 90 assembly seats of the state.”
The BJP and HLP are yet to officially decide on a seat-sharing formula for the Haryana Assembly election.
Ranjit Chautala’s Prospects In Haryana Assembly Polls
Ranjit Singh Chautala, brother of former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, has a significant hold over the Jats, who comprise around 27% of Haryana’s population. Although he is confident of retaining his Rania seat, his decision to try for a Lok Sabha entry from Hisar did not go down well among the voters, according to ground surveys conducted by the BJP and the RSS, reported The Times Of India.
Chautala, however, seemed to keep the doors open for Congress as well just in case the BJP decided to lean in favour of ally HLP. On a question of joining hands with Congress leader and former CM Bhupendra Singh Hooda, Chautala on Monday said, “It is a matter of time, time keeps changing in politics.” However, he also said that he is in BJP and will remain there. He said that the high command will decide who will get the ticket from Rania constituency from BJP.
Chautala said, “Gopal Kanda has neither contributed to development work nor in the assembly session. If BJP has to form the government, the party needs a winning candidate.”
Ranjit Chautala’s ‘Brahmin’ Remarks Ahead Of Lok Sabha Polls
Before the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year, Chautala joined the BJP and was declared its candidate for Hisar. Chautala had made himself unpopular among the Brahmins after he blamed the community for riots and the caste system. He faced massive flak after a clip of his remarks went viral.
He later clarified that he had made the remarks in a casual manner and had no intention of hurting any community. He also said that he had deep respect for the Brahmin community.
The freh row over the Rania seat could now give the BJP sleepless nights till the Haryana Assembly election is over.
Voting will be held in a single phase in Haryana on October 1. The counting of votes will be done on October 4.
