It’s one coveted seat in Haryana that is poised to vote on a high emotional quotient.
The election battle ground in Uchana Kalan constituency in Jind district of Haryana is turning out to be a clash beyond rhetoric, victory or defeat.
It’s being dubbed as a seat that will decide the next chief minister. This Assembly constituency is the seat of former chief minister Om Prakash Chautala, who has been sentenced to jail for 10-years in the recruitment scam.
Chautala and his son also stand debarred to contest the elections. Nevertheless, the seat is being entirely contested in the name of Chautala. His grandson, 26-year old Dushyant Chautala, is the INLD candidate from Uchana Kalan. Just a few months ago, Dushyant became one of the youngest MP’s in the country after defeating Bhajan Lal’s heir Kuldeep Bishnoi from the Hisar Lok Sabha seat.
As he steps out of his bottle green coloured SUV (his supporters say it’s his lucky charm), Dushyant addresses a group of villagers and supporters. “I am retaining this seat for my grandfather who is in jail. This seat will decide the next chief minister of Haryana. My grandfather (O P Chautala) will get relief from the court,” he says.
Former chief minister O P Chautala won this seat in the last Assembly elections in 2009 by a margin of 600-odd votes. That’s what is likely to take the contest right down to the wire. Chautalas know the fight cannot be taken lightly this time, especially given that its key opponent of the BJP is also riding high on emotional quotient.
Sixty four-year-old Prem Lata Singh, wife of political stalwart Birender Singh, is the BJP candidate. Birender had severed ties with the Congress after 42-years of association to join the saffron party before the Lok Sabha polls. Old warhorse Birender knows his home turf, perhaps, more than anybody else, which is why he preferred his better half Prem Lata to carry forward his legacy.
Birender is not contesting the elections, but Prem Lata has a different take on this. She says, “My husband is a chief minster candidate. If a situation arises after the elections, I will vacate the seat for him.”
Uchana Kalan is essentially a Jat dominated seat with 92,000 Jats, followed by the SC population which is less than half of the majority Jats.
Dushyant takes on his opponents with a clear advantage. This Assembly segment gave him a highest lead of over 50,000 votes about six months ago when he won his Lok Sabha seat.
His grandfather Chautala, presently out on bail on health grounds, has been aggressively campaigning for him, even if it has meant taking the risk of his bail being cancelled by the Delhi High Court for violating the grounds of the bail.
