End of an era: Bishnoi family loses Adampur after 56 yrs
The Bishnoi family’s 56-year-long political reign in Adampur came to a historic end today as Bhavya Bishnoi, grandson of former Haryana Chief Minister Bhajan Lal, suffered a narrow defeat in the Assembly elections. Bhavya lost to Congress candidate Chander Prakash by 1,268 votes in a closely fought contest.
Historical record
- Bhajan Lal won the Adampur seat nine times
- His son, Kuldeep Bishnoi, won four times
- Bhajan Lal’s wife, Jasma Devi, daughter-in-law Renuka Bishnoi, and grandson Bhavya Bishnoi each won once
This marks the first-ever defeat for the Bishnoi family in Adampur, a seat that Bhajan Lal and his family had held since 1968. Over the years, Bhajan Lal, his wife Jasma Devi, son Kuldeep Bishnoi, daughter-in-law Renuka Bishnoi, and grandson Bhavya collectively won the Adampur seat 16 times, only to face defeat in their 17th attempt.
Chander Prakash, a retired IAS officer, played a key role in ending the Bishnoi family’s stronghold. This victory is reminiscent of Bhajan Lal’s own first and only political loss, which came at the hands of another retired IAS officer, ID Swami, in the 1999 Karnal Lok Sabha election.
“Gadh tut gaya (the stronghold has been dismantled),” said Pramal Singh, a resident of Balsamand, the largest village in the Adampur Assembly segment. “We have been trying to break the Bishnoi family’s streak of victories for decades, and this time, we finally did it.” Historically, Balsamand has been an anti-Bhajan Lal stronghold where the family often trailed in terms of votes.
Sunil Saini, a Bishnoi family supporter from Dhani Sishwal, noted that the Congress’s strategic decision to field Chander Prakash, an OBC candidate, was crucial to their success. “The Congress made a smart move by choosing a candidate who could appeal to the OBC vote bank, and that proved to be the key to victory,” he said.
Political expert Prof ML Goyal observed that the Bishnoi family’s political influence had been waning for years. “Kuldeep Bishnoi, Bhajan Lal’s son, made several political miscalculations,” Goyal explained. “When he switched from Congress to BJP in 2022, he forfeited his claim to the chief minister’s post. This demotion, from a CM aspirant to a regular BJP leader, severely impacted his political standing. Even when his son Bhavya won the 2022 Adampur by-election for the BJP, he was not given a ministerial position, signalling their diminishing influence.”
