NEW DELHI: A year after Congress’ unexpected loss in Haryana under the Hooda’s, Indian National Lok Dal president Abhay Singh Chautala is stirring the political waters.
The INLD, once sidelined, is reviving its legacy under his leadership, targeting Jat voters with a blend of nostalgia and organisational energy.
Chautala’s challenge is clear: reclaim the community from Bhupinder Singh Hooda while navigating a state where younger Jats, increasingly urban and aspirational, weigh ideology lightly.
With mass rallies, strategic outreach, and promises rooted in Devi Lal’s vision, Chautala is betting on decisiveness and visibility to reassert relevance.
Haryana’s political chessboard is shifting, and the tussle for Jat allegiance is back in full swing.
A year after losing an election it was expected to win, the Congress in Haryana is under pressure from former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala’s INLD.
Exactly a year ago, 8 October 2024, that the BJP won 48 of 90 seats in the Haryana Assembly and returned to power—its third consecutive term in Haryana. The Congress secured 37 seats, when it was expected to sweep the state. The INLD won two seats, and independents took three.
Rohtak, the unofficial headquarters of the Haryana section of Jatland, witnessed yet another round of the ongoing contest between the families of former Deputy Prime Minister Chaudhary Devi Lal and senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
The renewed rivalry between Abhay Singh Chautala, grandson of Chaudhary Devi Lal, and Bhupinder Singh Hooda exemplifies the continuing struggle for Jat support at a time when the community seeks a stable political affiliation.
Over the previous 10 years, the BJP government was perceived as organised around the principle of ‘non-Jat politics’. Both its chief ministers, Manohar Lal Khattar and Nayab Singh Saini, belonged to communities other than the Jat.
With the Congress’ third consecutive loss, it was only a matter of time that Hooda’s position as the ‘no.1’ leader of the Jat community in Haryana also came under threat.
The latest and the strongest challenge has come from Abhay Singh Chautala.
The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) was founded in 1996 by Chaudhary Devi Lal as the Haryana Lok Dal (Rashtriya). It became a major party in Haryana advocating farmers’ rights and rural interests. After Devi Lal, it was led by Devi Lal’s heirs, including Om Prakash Chautala and Abhay Singh Chautala.
The INLD governed Haryana under Om Prakash Chautala from 1999 to 2005, including winning a big majority in 2000 (47 of 90 seats). It however crashed to nine seats in 2005 before somewhat reviving to 31 seats in 2009.
Thereafter, it went from marginalised to irrelevant in Haryana politics with tallies of 19, one and two across the 2014, 2019, and 2024 Assembly election respectively.
Abhay has accused Hooda of compromising the interests of the Indian National Congress (INC) for personal gain.
On 29 September 2025, Chautala said that Hooda does not want any Haryana INC leader to emerge as a contender against his son Deepender Singh Hooda. He alleged this is why leaders such as Rao Inderjit, Birender Singh, Kuldeep Bishnoi, and Kiran Choudhary were sidelined.
In a sustained critique over the past months, he has claimed that Hooda acted in concert with the BJP by nominating 16 underwhelming candidates to secure protection from alleged corruption charges. He doubled down on this charge ahead of a massive rally organised in Rohtak, on the 112th birth anniversary of his grandfather.
After Rao Narendra Singh, a non-Jat leader, was appointed State INC President on Hooda’s recommendation, INLD revived old charges of cash-for-change in land use (CLU) against Rao Narendra Singh. The CD in which Singh discussed a multi-crore deal for CLU was first released by Abhay Singh Chautala in 2013.
Targeting Hooda in Rohtak provides Chautala the opportunity to present himself as a contender to fill the vacuum in Jat politics.
His grandfather, Chaudhary Devi Lal, whose appeal extended across northern India, is regarded as one of the most prominent figures from the Jat community. In 1989, he secured victory in the Rohtak Lok Sabha seat, previously consolidated by Bhupinder’s father, Ranbir Singh Hooda in the 1950s.
Chaudhary Devi Lal later resigned from this seat in favour of the Sikar constituency in Rajasthan, after which he could not return as an MP.
Under Dushyant Chautala, nephew of Abhay Singh Chautala, the JJP won ten seats on an anti-BJP campaign in the 2019 Assembly Elections. Despite this platform, the JJP became a coalition partner in the BJP government in 2019, with Dushyant appointed as Deputy Chief Minister.
In the 2024 Assembly Elections, the JJP’s performance plummeted from 10 to zero seats, with none of its candidates able to retain their deposits. At that time, the JJP’s decline allowed Hooda to claim near-unilateral control over Jat voters across the state.
However, post-election, Hooda’s supremacy has given way to complacency.
The perception of him as a compromised leader is gaining traction, weakening his image further. Additionally, the Hooda family has allegedly become inaccessible in recent years, with very few leaders able to communicate with them. This is a significant reason why some INC leaders have joined INLD in recent months.
Hooda’s son, Deepender Singh Hooda, though a successful parliamentarian, is unlikely to emerge as the Jats’ primary representative, as he lacks the agitative style often associated with their leaders.
Earlier this year, the party decided to implement an organisational overhaul, setting 25 April as the deadline for restructuring units in eight districts: Gurugram, Faridabad, Rewari, Palwal, Mewat, Rohtak, Jhajjar, and Sonipat. Abhay Singh Chautala specifically instructed district officials to include only those who adhere to the clean politics championed by Chaudhary Devi Lal.
Chautala also advocated for the return of old party workers. This was a key motive behind his decision to visit all 90 assembly constituencies in the state. Throughout his yatra, Chautala and his team prioritised workers over fence-sitters, gaining momentum with the slogan ‘One booth, ten Youth’.
By the end of July 2025, Chautala announced that the party had achieved 90 per cent of its target, enrolling nearly five lakh new members across Haryana and forming over a dozen new cells.
These developments set the stage for the grand rally on Chaudhary Devi Lal’s birth anniversary in September. Although the ‘Samman rally’ is an annual event, the vacant space of O. P. Chautala and recent organisational activities added new dimensions. With only two MLAs from the family, the rally aimed to attract old workers and potential defectors from other parties.
