Former Haryana CM Om Prakash Chautala passes away in Gurugram

Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) supremo and former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala passed away in Gurugram on Friday, December 20, at the age of 89. Om Prakash Chautala died after a cardiac arrest, party spokesperson told news agency PTI.

Om Prakash Chautala was last seen in public during the voting of the Haryana Assembly election, which took place on October 5 this year. He was seen at a polling booth in Sirsa’s Chautala village.

Om Prakash Chautala, son of former Deputy Prime Minister of India Chaudhary Devi Lal, served as the seventh chief minister of Haryana.

Chautala was awarded a four-year jail term in a 16 years old disproportionate assets case on 27 May 2022 by a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Court and became the oldest prisoner of the Delhi’s Tihar jail aged 87. He was released in 2020.

Om Prakash Chautala’s wife Sneh Lata died in August 2019. Chautala has three daughters and two sons, including Abhay Singh Chautala and Ajay Singh Chautala.

Abhay Singh Chautala is a an MLA from from the Ellenabad constituency of Haryana and has also been the Leader of Opposition in the Haryana Legislative Assembly from October 2014 till March 2019.

Om Prakash Chautala’s grandson, Dushyant Chautala, is the leader of Jannayak Janata Party and has served as the deputy chief minister of Haryana. He is also a former Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha from the Hisar constituency.

Chautala’s entry in politics

Chautala was born in a small village near Haryana’s Sirsa. His father, Chaudhary Devi Lal, played a major role in the creation of Haryana in 1966, served as the state’s chief minister, and later as India’s deputy prime minister. He also founded the INLD party in 1996. According to information available on the internet, Chautala dropped out of school and chose politics, following his father’s path. In 1970, he was elected to Haryana’s legislative assembly as a member of the Janata Dal (People’s Party).

Chautala’s early political career had some controversies. One major incident was in 1978 when he was detained at the Delhi airport for bringing a large number of wristwatches into the country. This led to a fallout with his father, but Chautala later worked to rebuild his political image. He led the “Nyaya Yudh” campaign to support his father’s successful bid in the 1987 elections and organized protests against corruption in the 1990s. However, in 1990, he faced accusations of being involved in the killing of a political opponent.

Chautala was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1987 and served until 1990. In December 1989, he became Haryana’s chief minister, replacing his father who had been appointed as the deputy PM of India. However, he was unable to secure a seat in the state assembly within the required six months and had to step down in May 1990. He later won a by-election and briefly served as chief minister again in 1990-91.

After the Congress Party won the 1991 elections in Haryana, Chautala entered the assembly through a by-election in 1993. In 1995, he resigned as a protest against a deal to share Haryana’s water with neighboring states. Chautala won a seat in the 1996 elections and became the opposition leader. The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) was formed in 1998. In 1999, after the Haryana Vikas Party lost its majority, Chautala became chief minister for a fourth time.

Chautala has served as the CM of Haryana from December 1989 to May 1990; July 1990 to July 1990; from March 1991 to April 1991 and, finally, from July 1999 to March 2005.