The phenomenal rise of Dushyant Chautala, Lok Sabha's youngest MP and Deputy CM of Haryana
CHANDIGARH: From being the youngest MP in the 16th Lok Sabha to now the Deputy Chief Minister of Haryana, 31-year old Dushyant Chautala is expected to emerge as the most powerful Jat leader in the coming years and expand the base of his Jannayak Janata Party (JJP).
At the age of 26, the great-grandson of former deputy prime minister Chaudhary Devi Lal and grandson of former Haryana chief minister Om Parkash Chautala, Dushyant became the youngest MP in 2014 by defeating another political scion, Kuldeep Bishnoi, who is the son of another former CM Bhajan Lal.
An alumnus of Lawrence School at Sanawar in Himachal Pradesh, Dushyant has studied law at National Law University and has done Business Administration from California State University.
He was a leader of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) before being expelled from the party along with younger brother Digvijay last year by their uncle Abhay Chautala as the brothers had targeted him at a party rally in October 2018. They went on to form the JJP on December 9 last year. Now, just 11 months later, 10 of his party’s MLAs won in the Assembly elections, propelling him into the role of a kingmaker in the state and now the deputy CM.
“Dushyant Chautala has a better chance of developing his leadership in partnership with BJP, as being in the government he can consolidate the vote base of his party,” said political expert Raghuvendra Tanwar of Kurukshetra University.
“Now he will make inroads in the Jat vote bank of the Congress. Going with the Congress wouldn’t have helped him as Bhupinder Singh Hooda is already a tall Jat leader.”
It’s a happy Diwali for the Chautala family
Dushyant Chautala’s father Ajay Chautala, who is lodged in Tihar Jail after being convicted in a teacher recruitment scam along with his father and former CM Om Prakash Chautala, will be out on furlough for two weeks and is likely to attend the oath-taking ceremony of the BJP-JJP government on Sunday.
“Can’t my father celebrate Diwali with his family? Due to the model code of conduct, my father’s application for furlough could not be accepted. Now, for Diwali he will be with the family for two weeks,” said Dushyant.