Haryana ensures its few big happy families

Only those relatives of leaders who have been active in electoral politics in the past will be given Congress tickets....

While tickets to relatives of leaders in Maharashtra for the ensuing Assembly elections has kicked up a row,Haryana provides a study in contrast. The ruling Congress,which is also the favourite for the coming polls,had declared that it would not provide tickets to any new relatives of political leaders,and it has stuck to its stand. This means that only those relatives who have contested elections in the past would be considered for party tickets,while first-timers will be given the brush-off. The diktat,according to party sources here,had come from the Congress high command,and it was able to stave off attempts by some leaders to get nominations for their close relatives.

Interestingly,however,the electoral battle in the state features the scions of the three famous Lals of Haryana Bansi Lal,Devi Lal and Bhajan Lal along with the latest political family of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda whose father was a minister in Pepsu,and his son Deepender Hooda is a Lok Sabha member who was elected for the second time from Rohtak. While Hooda has refrained from fielding his wife despite vocal demand from a section of the party,there is a surfeit of relatives contesting the elections from all the major parties.

Bansi Lals family is now a divided house. He himself had left the Congress to form the Haryana Vikas Party. His son Surender,however,returned to the Congress and was made a minister but died in a helicopter crash. His wife,Kiran Choudhary,was inducted in the state Cabinet and is in the fray this time from the family stronghold of Tosham. Her daughter,Shruti Choudhary,was elected to Lok Sabha earlier this year. Ranbir Mahindra,elder son of Bansi Lal,is recontesting as Congress candidate from Badhra constituency while his son-in-law Somveer is also re-contesting as Congress candidate from Loharu.

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Devi Lals son and INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala,meanwhile,is contesting from two constituencies Uchana Kalan and Elanabad. His son Ajay Chautala is in the fray from Dabwali. Interestingly,he will face his uncle K V Singh from the Congress and as well as cousin Ravi Chautala,an independent candidate.

Bhajan Lal,on the other hand,has formed Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) along with his son Kuldeep Bishnoi. Bhajan Lal won the recent Lok Sabha elections from Hisar and has fielded his wife Jasma Devi from Nalwa as an HJC candidate. Kuldeep Bishnoi is contesting the Assembly elections for the first time from Adampur constituency.

Among the close relatives of politicians,who have been in the electoral fray in the past too,are Randeep Surjewala. A minister in the caretaker government,Randeep is now a politician in his own right. His father Shamsher Singh Surjewala was a minister for a long period and a member of the just dissolved state Assembly.

Savitri Jindal,mother of MP Navin Jindal,is also recontesting from Hisar.

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