india

Updated: Jul 15, 2019 07:13 IST

The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) appears to be staring at a bleak future. For 15 years, the regional outfit floated by former deputy prime minister Chaudhary Devi Lal has been out of power. Ever since INLD patriarch and five-time Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala was sentenced to 10 years in jail in January 2013, the party has been passing through one of its worst phases.

Having lost three consecutive state polls since 2005, the upcoming battle for Haryana assembly is a make-or-break one for the INLD. With Chautala, 83, in Tihar jail, the party lacks the mass appeal that a leader of his standing brings. Such is the INLD’s plight that its vote share came down to 1.90% in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from 22.43% in 2004.

With the Haryana elections less than 100 days away, the party is desperately trying to stay afloat. Its only hope is the old war horse, Chautala. Expectedly, the INLD rank-and-file is anxiously waiting for August 8 when Delhi high court will decide if he can be prematurely released from jail.

Chautala, who suffers from 60% permanent disability, had petitioned the high court after the Centre in July 2018 floated a special remission policy to commemorate the 150 birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

“We are confident that Chautala will be out of jail… And if that happens, the political scene in Haryana will change,” said Birbal Dhalia, the new INLD chief.

After Chautala and his elder son Ajay were sentenced, the INLD was recouping under his younger son, Abhay. But a power struggle erupted in the family last year, leading to Ajay’s sons Dushyant and Digvijay floating the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP). Since then, the INLD has been struggling to stem the slide. Many of its leaders also switched to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Ashutosh Kumar, professor of political science at Panjab University, said, “It’s going to be bipolar politics in Haryana. In the INLD-JJP family war, the future of both outfits is bleak.”

According to MS Malik, former Haryana director general of police (DGP) and chairman of the INLD’s policy planning and programmes, the party is determined to bounce back .

REVIVAL BLUEPRINT

Recently, the INLD patriarch handpicked Dhalia, 74, for the task of rebuilding the party. “

Under a rebuilding exercise that started on July 6, Abhay and Dhalia will interact with party workers and voters of all 90 assembly segments through this month. “The objective is to hold three meetings a day in three adjoining districts with three different segments of society,” ex-DGP Malik said.

Dhalia said the INLD had launched a multi-pronged plan to re-activate the cadre by involving all 16 cells of the party. The party has activated these cells representing ex-servicemen, scheduled castes, Jats etc from the state to the village level.