Dynasty Watch

Call it democracy of dynasties, for dynasties and by dynasties. Eight of the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana have candidates whose some kin...

Call it democracy of dynasties, for dynasties and by dynasties. Eight of the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana have candidates whose some kin or the other is already a big name in politics.

The star contest is in Bhiwani, where former prime minister Devi Lal8217;s grandson and Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala8217;s son, Ajay Chautala, is taking on replaced CM Bansi Lal8217;s son and the sitting MP, Surender Singh. Both Devi Lal and Bansi Lal, incidentally, are not in the fray. Devi Lal has opted out for the first time in 33 years but after clearing the way for his entire family, which includes two other full-time politician sons, Partap and Ranjit.

In the neighbouring Hisar, the Congress candidate is Birender Singh. A prominent politician in his own right, he is also the maternal grandson of Sir Chhotu Ram and son of Neki Ram, both former revenue ministers. Birender has followed the family profession to the hilt, even becoming a revenue minister himself.

The Rohtak seat has HPCC president Bhupinder Singh Hooda in thefray. His father Chaudhry Ranbir Singh has a unique record to his credit he has been a member of the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and Constituent Assembly, apart from being an MLC and an MLA!

On the Faridabad seat, Zakir Hussain, son of Rajasthan8217;s Agriculture Minister Tayyab Hussain, is trying his hand at politics. While in Mahendragarh, former Haryana CM Rao Birender Singh8217;s son, Rao Inderjit Singh, is the Congress candidate. Rao Birender Singh has also done a stint in the Centre as Union agriculture minister. His brother, Rao Ajit Singh, too has been contesting elections.

At Sirsa, Om Parkash Keharwala has got the Congress ticket instead of Kumari Selja. Keharwala is the grandson of Mani Ram Keharwala, a former MLA. Mani Ram8217;s son and Om Prakash8217;s uncle, Kesra Ram, has been a state deputy minister. Om Prakash got the ticket after Selja withdrew from the contest. She herself belongs to a political family, her father, Chaudhry Dalbir Singh, having been an AICC general secretary and a minister at the Centre aswell as the state.

But Haryana not only boasts of such cases, where fathers/uncles have paved way for the next generation. Some among the older generation are co-existing with the younger one. Like former CM Bhajan Lal, who is contesting this time from Karnal. Both his sons, Kuldeep Bishnoi and Chander Mohan, are MLAs. Same is the case with Chiranji Lal, who is in the fray from Sonepat, a seat he has won four times before. His son Kuldeep too has fought a few elections.Haryana is already famous for giving Indian politics the term Aya Ram, Gaya Ram8217;. Courtesy its pampering politician fathers, it may soon become known for another: a state of Lals and laals much-loved sons.