Shooting range to the poll arena, Union Minister Rao Inderjit’s daughter has a new goal in her sights

The 45-year-old Arti told The Indian Express, “People have been asking me to contest. I have only received support … I will certainly contest, either for the BJP or as an Independent. I will zero in on the Assembly seat after discussions.”

Arti is not a complete political novice, having been active in her father’s campaigns since the 2009 Lok Sabha elections when Singh was with the Congress. After joining the BJP, Singh even pitched for a party ticket for Arti in the 2014 and 2019 parliamentary polls but without success.

In the run-up to the recent Lok Sabha elections, Arti led campaigns for her father in Gurgaon, conducting 14 meetings a day for more than 25 days, according to BJP insiders. In her campaign speeches, Arti spoke of “voting for Haryanavi blood” to defeat the Congress’s Raj Babbar.

“We are from South Haryana as is our family, our roots and our blood … It is the responsibility of the people of Gurgaon to show such people the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway so they can be sent back to Mumbai,” she said, alluding to Babbar’s career as an actor in Mumbai. Singh defeated Babbar by 75,079 votes but it was a drop from the 3.8-lakh margin of 2019. Overall, the BJP took a hit in Haryana, losing five constituencies to the Congress.

Haryana BJP leaders said the Lok Sabha setback — the party swept the 2019 polls, winning all 10 parliamentary constituencies — made the party look closely at candidates and their winnability factor. “Arti is as good as anyone and has a good chance in Ateli, Kosli, and Narnaul seats as these are the strongholds of her family. The party is planning to give tickets to the children of popular candidates, even to the son of Krishan Pal Gurjar (Faridabad MP). At present, winnability is more important than countering dynasty politics narrative,” said a senior BJP leader.

And with Singh’s dreams of becoming the CM seeming more distant than ever due to the rivalry with now Union Minister and former Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar — who has a huge influence on the state BJP — the stage has been set for the next generation to take over

Entry into politics

Arti comes from a family with a political pedigree. Rao Inderjit is a descendant of Rao Tula Ram, the former king of the Ahirwal region that comprises Haryana’s Rewari, Mahendragarh, Gurgaon and parts of Bhiwani, Dadri, Nuh, Jhajjar, and Alwar in Rajasthan. Arti’s grandfather Birender Singh served as Haryana’s second CM and was in power in 1967.

According to those who know her, Arti has been interested in skeet shooting since she was young. She began participating in competitions in 1999 and competed in the World Shooting Cup finals in 2001 and 2012. She also has four Asian Championship medals. The 45-year-old is the current president of the Haryana Para Sports Association.

Arti’s move into politics happened as her grandfather’s absence because of poor health had left a vacuum. “I had little confidence and speaking extempore was challenging. But I got better in 2014,” she said.

In 2017, she quit professional shooting to attempt to carve out a place in south Haryana politics. At all her rallies, she talks about the cultural unity of south Haryana. “If we could unite the people of South Haryana, the region would be a force to reckon with. Even in this Lok Sabha, among the five seats BJP got in Haryana, three are from the region. But we have not gotten our fair share,” she said at one recent event.

At a rally in Pataudi in June 2023, Arti exhorted the audience to unite behind her father, making a pitch for a CM from the region. “Chief Minister badalna hai toh dikhana toh hoga (If you want to change the CM, you have to show them) … We keep saying South Haryana and how we want to form the government. There is a long list of things done over the past nine years by Rao saab. We have to come together for this rally, for Rao saab,” she said.

Arti claimed she was “getting support from women across the region”, saying, “Haryana has just one woman MP, (Kumari) Selja ji among the 10 parliamentarians. All parties seek votes from 50% of the population, but we only have a 10% representation. This needs to change.”