Former Haryana CM, INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala passes away

Family sources said that Chautala would be cremated at Teja Khera in Sirsa district on Saturday afternoon. His body would be kept there from 8 am to 2 pm for people to come and pay their respects.

Chautala is survived by his two sons Ajay Singh Chautala and Abhay Singh Chautala and three daughters.

Abhay was earlier the Leader of Opposition in Haryana Assembly. His son Arjun Chautala is currently a legislator from Rania constituency of Haryana. Ajay Chautala’s son Dushyant Chautala was the Deputy Chief Minister of Haryana during the Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP-JJP alliance government.

INLD spokesperson Rakesh Sihag told The Indian Express that the former chief minister was feeling well in the morning. “However, a cardiac arrest took his life as he had hiccups before he took his last breath,” Sihag added.

Chautala was convicted in a corruption case in 2013 in relation to a recruitment case and sentenced to jail for 10 years. His elder son Ajay Chautala was also among 55 persons who were convicted in the matter.

This conviction was a big hit to his political career as he could not contest the elections post the judgment. Chautala was released from Tihar jail in July 2021.

Since his release, he took up the cause of forming a third front in the country after cutting his ties with the National Democratic Alliance. As part of his efforts, he met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and former UP Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav in 2021. In a rally held by Chautala in Fatehabad in September 2022, Nitish Kumar, NCP leader Sharad Pawar, the Akali Dal’s Sukhbir Singh Badal, RJD leader and the then Bihar Deputy CM Tejaswi Yadav, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury and Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant were present.