Following Congress veteran Bhupender Singh Hooda’s recent statement, a question that “ should political leaders who have crossed the age of 70 need to retire from active party politics” continues to surface. There are many examples of political veterans active in the state politics including Hudda, Gyanchand Gupta, Ranjeet Singh, Ramvilas Sharma, Birender Singh ete in a bid to fulfill their political ambitions.
Now this issue will remain in discussion for some time, and political accusations will continue to be made.
It is pertinent to mention thar last Thursday, former Chief Minister Bhupendra Singh Hooda was asked a question in a program whether the upcoming assembly elections would be his last election, then smilingly he said that the question is good but I will not answer it. It directly indicates that at present he will continue his innings. Now in this episode, we will talk about how many leaders are there in Haryana who are ahead but still their political ambitions are not decreasing and his reaction led to new political equations ahead of upcoming assembly polls due in October.
Hooda, he has seen 76 springs of life and it has become clear from his answer that he will continue his politics in the coming times and his political ambitions have not ended or decreased. It is also believed that he is constantly working towards making his son Deependra the CM of Haryana in future.
Among the leaders active in Haryana politics, Ranjit Singh Chautala is counted among the veteran leaders. He seems to be capable of fooling his advancing age and keeping his political ambitions alive. This can be gauged from the fact that despite being 79 years old, he is still active in politics and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is constantly giving him importance. Of course, he lost the last Hisar Lok Sabha elections, but now he is constantly preparing for the assembly elections to be held in the month of October. His political stature can be gauged from the fact that even without being an MLA, he holds the portfolio of a cabinet minister.
Speaker Gyan Chand Gupta of the Haryana Assembly has turned 76, but he has not indicated even once, directly or indirectly, that he will retire from politics. Last year, in a program organized in Panchkula on his birthday, former Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had said alongside Gyan Chand Gupta that a politician should retire from politics after achieving a certain age. At that time, his statement was also seen in the context of Gyan Chand Gupta and was continuously discussed. Because the political environment in Haryana has changed in many contexts, Gyan Chand Gupta is also a contender for the ticket and is continuously his presence felt in the corridors of power.
OP Chautala, who has been the CM of Haryana for a record 5 times, has seen 89 springs of life but despite this, disregarding his age, he is not only active in politics in some way or the other but also keeps making his presence felt in other ways.
Despite being away from power around two decades is being witnessed campaigning in elections as well as seen in public programs. Of course, his party is not in power but his influence and status are still intact.
BJP leader Ram Vilas Sharma, who was once in a good position in power in Haryana politics, is still active in politics even after seeing 74 springs of his life, although it is not yet decided whether the party will give him a big post in the organization or will give him a ticket in the upcoming assembly elections. After losing the last election, he was continuously marginalized and the recent events clearly show that the party is no longer giving him that much importance. Recently, before the Lok Sabha elections, his pain was evident in the public forum after he had said that he played an pivotal role in bringing BJP to power in Haryana but now he is not being given importance.
At present, there are many MLAs in Haryana between the age of 70 and 80 who are from different parties. These include Jagbir Singh Malik and BB Batra of Congress, who are confident and in good books of Hooda, while Ishwar Singh and Ramkumar Gautam of Jannayak Janata Party can be termed as veteran leaders.Ramkumar Gautam is about 78 years old and the pain of not being made a cabinet minister in his lifetime was seen and felt many times on public platforms. At present, Birendra Singh, who is 78 years old, is also continuously trying to establish his son Vijendra Singh in Haryana politics.
