INLD Rally in Haryana Raises Tricky Issues For I.N.D.I.A

The formation of the Indian National Democratic Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A) was bound to pose certain difficult situations for its constituents. After all, the national goals and regional stakes of the constituents of this alliance are strongly at opposing ends in some of the states. Haryana happens to be one of the trickiest states on this count.

On Monday the regional powerhouse, Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) had its show of strength in Kaithal to mark the birth anniversary of its tallest leader and former deputy Prime Minister Chaudhary Devi Lal. The event was attended by leaders of several components of the I.N.D.I.A camp barring the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) along with regional forces like the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) that are not a part of this alliance.

An interesting attendee was Chaudhary Birender Singh who had switched over from the Congress to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the 2014 Assembly elections in the state and later went on to become a Cabinet Minister in the central government.

Incidentally, the INLD is also not a part of the alliance yet. So, on expected lines there were two messages that came to be disseminated from the event.

One was the obvious call for the coming together of the regional forces and the inclusion of INLD in the exercise. The second was that all is not well in the alliance and it stands divided.

There are certain factors that need to be underlined here. Haryana is scheduled to go to the polls a few months after the Lok Sabha elections of 2024. It is a state where both INLD and the Congress have been traditional, and bitter, rivals. The stakes are high for both.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that is currently in power in the state for two consecutive terms is a late entry on the political horizon and it is in alliance with the INLD’s splinter group of Jannayak Janata Party (JJP). The AAP remains a rookie force that is trying to find its feet on the ground expecting a spillover effect from the neighbouring Delhi where it has been in power for some time.

Meanwhile, the INLD has been out of power in the state since 2005 which is a considerable time for a political party. Its performance in Lok Sabha polls has also been on the downslide. However, it is fighting for survival and revival under Abhay Chautala who has travelled across the state undertaking a long ‘parivartan padyatra’.

The massive rally at Kaithal on Monday, saw strong messages from the political leaders. There was an appeal from former INLD chief minister and Abhay’s father Om Prakash Chautala announcing the handing over of the party baton formally to his son while appealing to the masses to support him .

“I hand over Abhay Singh to you, strengthen Abhay Singh's hands and make him successful. My blessings are and will always be with him. If he commits any mistake, I will pull his ears,” the senior Chautala said in his address on the day marking the 110th birth anniversary of Devi Lal.

The event was also used as an occasion to launch INLD’s Assembly poll campaign as Chautala announced sops that would follow INLD’s election to power. These included a monthly pension of Rs 7,500 to the elderly, a gas cylinder and Rs 1,100 every month to every household, health and education benefits, jobs and unemployment allowance to the youth.

Those who attended the event included former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Farooq Abdullah, former deputy chief minister of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal, general secretary of Janata Dal (United) and member of research committee of I.N.D.I.A alliance K.C. Tyagi, Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien, Bhim Army president Chandrashekhar Ravan along with others.

Farooq Abdullah was scathing in his attack on the BJP taking up the issue of communal divide and the politics of hatred. Calling for the need to unite in the face of injustice, he said, “The central government brought three agricultural laws. More than 700 farmers were martyred. Ultimately the government had to bow before the unity of the farmers.

“We all united to oust the British from India and made many sacrifices considering the country as our religion, as a result of which the country got independence.”

He said that crores of Muslims did not go to Pakistan. Instead of accompanying Jinnah, they held hands with Mahatma Gandhi and Jawahar Lal Nehru. Still doubts are raised.

Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal took the attack further pointing out that a move was afoot to weaken the regional parties. “Today some parties are trying to create communal tensions to polarise votes. See what happened in Manipur and Nuh. India cannot progress like this. There is a need to make all minorities feel safe in this country,” Badal said.

The Badal family has been very close to the Devi Lal family and the friendship goes back several decades. Politically, it is being felt that the chances of the Akalis realigning with the BJP have further dimmed on account of the continuing Indo-Canadian standoff.

Pointing that the regional parties could do the utmost for their regions, Sukhbir added, “We have witnessed speedy progress in all the states where regional parties play a dominant role in politics like in the case of the SAD, INLD and the National Conference.” However, he urged the people not to believe in newfound parties like the AAP which had ‘destroyed Punjab and thrown the state into a debt trap’.

Derek O’Brien underlined that all parties will have to unite to oust a government like BJP from power that is known for Jumlebaji (making false promises). Chaudhary Birender Singh called for following the path shown by Devi Lal who had taught the farmers the lesson of unity. “If we want to fight the farmers' fight, we will have to fight unitedly, it cannot be fought separately,” he said.

K.C. Tyagi underlined that parties like INLD, Shiv Sena, JDU and Akali Dal who were once part of the BJP led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) have come out of the alliance. He said that the constituents of I.N.D.I.A will have to show a big heart to win the larger battle in 2024. He was hinting at the seat sharing formula yet to be announced.

In a veiled message to the Congress he said that some people are ready to lose 10 parliamentary seats in Haryana to the BJP but are not ready to win unitedly. He said that victory in Haryana is not at all possible without INLD.

Abhay Singh Chautala while attacking the dispensation at the centre said the present government neither has faith in ‘lokalraj’ (rule of the people) nor in ‘lokalaj’ (having shame before the people). He expressed confidence that Haryana will once again play a role in changing the scenario.

“If we oust the BJP-JJP government from power in the state, then together we will uproot the BJP from central politics. For this we will have to leave the politics of selfishness and come together. Haryana has played a big role in the transformation of the country before and this time also Haryana will play a similar role,” Chautala said.

Meanwhile Abhay’s nephew Dushyant Chautala who heads the JJP in Haryana too addressed a ‘Kisan Vijay Sanman Diwas’ in Sikar in neighbouring Rajasthan to mark the birth anniversary of his great grandfather Devi Lal. There have been reports that the JJP is trying to get a foothold in Rajasthan.

There is no clarity as yet whether the JJP will continue to have a truck with the BJP for the Lok Sabha and assembly polls in the state. There have been conflicting statements coming off and on.