Ex-BJP leader Aditya Chautala joins INLD, set to contest from Dabwali

In a significant political shift in Sirsa, Aditya Chautala, who was previously with the BJP and is the grandson of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal, joined the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) on Sunday. Aditya, a former BJP district president and Chairman of the Haryana Marketing Board, will now run for office in Dabwali on an INLD-BSP ticket in the upcoming Assembly elections.

Aditya’s departure from the BJP was followed by his exclusion from the party’s initial list of candidates. After resigning from his position in the state government, he met with INLD leader and former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala to seek support. Aditya was officially welcomed into the INLD by Abhay Chautala.

In Dabwali, Aditya will face a stiff competition from his relatives, including Digvijay Chautala of the JJP and Amit Sihag of the Congress, who had defeated him in the 2019 Assembly elections.

Abhay Chautala criticised Ajay Chautala and his wife Naina for abandoning Dabwali and betraying Om Prakash Chautala for personal gains. He also condemned the BJP, accusing it of using individuals for its own purposes and then discarding them once their goals were met. He emphasised that it was time to teach the BJP a lesson.

Aditya, who joined the BJP in 2014, was appointed the Chairman of the Haryana State Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development Bank in 2019. However, after losing the 2019 elections, his relationship with the party had been weakening. Aditya had resigned from his government position on Thursday, officially ending his connection with the BJP.

This development introduces new dynamics to the political scene in Dabwali, where the Chautala family will now compete against each other in the elections.