In the ongoing Haryana elections, Arjun Chautala, the youngest among the Chautala family, almost all members of the Chautala family, are trailing in their respective constituencies. This comes as a significant setback for the Chautala family, known for its political legacy in the state.
Contrary to the predictions of exit polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is putting up a strong challenge against the Congress in Haryana. Meanwhile, the Chautala-led parties—Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and Jannayak Janta Party (JJP)—are facing a potential electoral disaster, according to election trends.
As per the Election Commission’s update at 12:45 pm, the BJP is leading in 49 seats, while the Congress is ahead in 35. The INLD, once a dominant force in Haryana under Om Prakash Chautala, is leading in only one seat.
Arjun Chautala, son of INLD leader Abhay Chautala, is leading in the Rania constituency. However, other prominent members of the Chautala family are trailing. Dushyant Chautala, whose JJP played a pivotal role in forming the government after the 2019 elections, is trailing in Uchana Kalan, where Congress candidate Brijendra Singh holds the lead.
Abhay Singh Chautala himself is trailing in Ellenabad, with Congress candidate Bharat Singh Beniwal in the lead. Additionally, Dushyant’s brother, Digvijaya Singh Chautala, is falling behind in Dabwali (Sirsa), and Sunaina Chautala of INLD is trailing in Fatehabad, where BJP’s Dura Ram is leading.
The Chautala family experienced a major rift in 2018 when Dushyant and Digvijay Chautala were expelled from INLD for their disagreement with Abhay Chautala. Their father, Ajay Chautala, was later expelled as well for supporting his sons. This led to the creation of the JJP, which was officially launched at a rally in Jind in December 2018.
In the 2019 Haryana Assembly elections, JJP performed impressively by winning 10 seats and securing over 14% of the vote share. Although the BJP emerged as the largest party, it was short of a majority, and the Congress, with 31 seats, was hoping for JJP’s support. However, after lengthy negotiations, Dushyant Chautala chose to ally with the BJP.
Earlier this year, JJP withdrew its support from the BJP-led government, putting the administration on the verge of collapse. However, the BJP managed to retain power with the backing of independent MLAs, preventing the government from falling apart.
