Chandigarh: Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala expected ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to accommodate the interests of his Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) in next year’s Lok Sabha elections. But that did not stop him from defending his party’s decision to queer the pitch for its ally by contesting 25 seats in the Rajasthan polls later this year.
In an interview with ThePrint at his Chandigarh residence, Dushyant Chautala reiterated Thursday that the JJP has been a part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ever since it allied with the BJP in the state in 2019. “We entered into an alliance with the BJP to see how we can provide a government that could take the state forward. Despite many challenges such as Covid and this year’s floods, the alliance has been able to function well.”
He added that as far as contesting elections is concerned, the JPP is “part of the NDA”.
Referring to how “people often quote senior BJP leaders as saying the party will contest all 10 seats (parliamentary seats in Haryana; all of which the BJP won in 2019)”, Chautala told ThePrint that these issues were discussed in the most recent meeting of the BJP-led NDA.
He, however, added that “historically, there have been several instances where political parties made compromises to accommodate their partners,” — indicating that the BJP may leave a few seats for ally JJP in the general election next year.
Asked about poll-bound Rajasthan, the 35-year-old deputy chief minister of Haryana said that “when the time comes, we will sit together with the BJP leaders and try to find out how we can contest the election (in Rajasthan) together”.
“In fact, I have already discussed the issue at some level with the BJP and I am hopeful of a solution. Similarly, the issue of various seats in Haryana will also be decided once the two parties sit together,” he added.
In Haryana, the Hisar parliamentary and Uchana assembly seats have emerged as the bone of contention between the JJP and senior BJP leader Birender Singh whose son, Brijendra Singh, is the MP from Hisar — the seat represented by Chautala from 2014 to 2019. The Uchana assembly seat, on the other hand, elected Chautala to the state assembly in 2019 after he defeated the sitting MLA Premlata, who is Birender Singh’s wife.
Now, BJP’s state in charge Biplab Kumar Deb has announced Premlata’s candidature from Uchana while Chautala has announced his intention to retain his seat. Similarly, Chautala’s JJP is once again looking to stake its claim to the Hisar and Bhiwani parliamentary seats from where either he or his father Ajay Singh Chautala have contested and won in the past.
While in conversation with ThePrint, Dushyant Chautala also discussed a host of other issues ranging from the farmers’ unrest, Nuh violence, and the state of Haryana’s economy.
‘Aiming for 40% vote share’: Dushyant Chautala
Chautala won his first election from the Hisar parliamentary seat in 2014 from his great-grandfather Chaudhary Devi Lal’s Indian National Lok Dal (INLD). He was suspended from the party in September 2018 following differences with his uncle, Abhay Singh Chautala.
Later that year, he formed the JJP which won 10 of the 90 seats in the 2019 assembly polls. An alliance with the BJP, which secured 40 seats, made him deputy chief minister.
Chautala said he has set a target of increasing the JJP’s vote share to 40 percent in the assembly polls due in October next year. “In 2019, within 11 months of forming the party, we had to contest three elections — a bypoll for Jind assembly seat in January, Lok Sabha polls in May, and assembly polls in October. Back then, the party organisation was new.”
“In the years since, we have worked on the organisation. Now, our organisation has reached booth level. We are definitely going to get better results this time,” he said.
Referring to the 2019 assembly polls, Dushyant Chautala said his party garnered “17 percent of the votes” despite the fact that “three of our candidates withdrew their nominations without taking us in confidence and the nomination of one of our candidates was rejected”.
“I am confident that our workers will be able to increase our vote share from 17 to 40 percent in the 2024 assembly polls,” he said.
Election Commission data, however, pegs JJP’s vote share in the 2019 assembly elections as 14.84 percent (overall) and 15.32 percent on seats contested by the party.
Asked if achieving his goal or his party workers’ wish to see him as chief minister be possible as long as the JJP is allied with the BJP, Chautala replied with a question: “Why not the JJP? If the BJP can reach where it is from just two Lok Sabha seats in 1984.”
‘Badi parchi & chhoti parchi’
On the Lok Sabha polls slated for May next year, five months ahead of assembly polls in Haryana, Chautala said, “Haryana ke matdata mein hamesha se hi mansik taur par badi parchi aur chhoti parchi ka antar hota hai (Psychologically, voters in Haryana have always seen parliamentary and assembly polls differently).” He added, “This badi parchi, chhoti parchi is definitely a challenge, but I am sure we will overcome this challenge.”
Data from the Election Commission shows that in the last four elections, voters in Haryana have endorsed national parties in parliamentary polls but not so in assembly elections.
Even the JJP drew a blank in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, securing just 4.89 percent of the votes, before it went on to bag 10 seats in the assembly elections later that same year.
“I have always said whenever the voice of regional parties gets representation in the Lok Sabha, the efficiency is there to see. Had I not become a Lok Sabha MP in 2014, tractors would have been commercial vehicles today. It was only because I was there that I held a protest with a tractor in Parliament that the proposed amendment in the rules under the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 was dropped,” Chautala told ThePrint.
He was referring to an instance from 15 December, 2017, when he rode a tractor to Parliament to protest against the tweaking of certain rules in the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988, allegedly detrimental for farmers who own tractors.
Asked about anti-incumbency in Haryana, where his party has been in power alongside the BJP since 2019, Chautala said it is not a factor as he felt his party fulfilled most of the promises it made to people.
“Only one promise, that of 75 percent jobs in the private sector to local youths, is in limbo because the Punjab and Haryana High Court is hearing a petition against it. However, I am sure that the case will be decided in the government’s favour and then it will become mandatory for the private sector to provide 75 percent of jobs to local people,” he said.
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On farmers’ issues & communal violence
When his attention was drawn towards repeated agitations by farmers against the state government — first, the year-long stir on Delhi’s borders against the now-repealed three farm laws; then, for remunerative prices for sugarcane and sunflower; and now, for compensation for flood-hit farmers — Chautala said Haryana’s farmers are the most affluent in the country and credit goes to the policies of the state government.
“When we talk about farmers’ issues, we have to first be clear what exactly their demands are. Our farmers protested against agriculture bills but the bills have been withdrawn since. The farmers do have issues with the Centre but these are not new…”
“As far as relief for floods is concerned, Haryana worked proactively to provide compensation to farmers. Now, we have come with another policy for desilting of farmers’ fields and this too will benefit farmers financially,” he said.
On the allegation by various khap panchayats that the communal violence in Nuh a few weeks ago was the result of BJP’s divisive politics, Chautala said the clashes were a culmination of a number of developments from the past couple of years, and added that the state government’s handling of the situation, after the violence, was commendable.
Dushyant Chautala on investments in Haryana
In response to a question on the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) latest report bracketing Haryana along with West Bengal, Goa, Sikkim and Kerela as states with least investments in 2023-24, Chautala said the RBI seems to have taken only mega projects into consideration, but Haryana has done well in the case of investments in the form of MSMEs.
“We can’t compare Haryana with states with seashores as they are in an advantageous position in terms of export facilities. Similarly, states, where land costs are low, attract more mega projects. We have concentrated on IT, BPOs, service sector and MSMEs. Leaving Maharashtra aside, the rest of the states with better investments than Haryana are not far ahead of us in GST collections,” he asserted.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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