Haryana Minister Ranjit Singh Chautala has indicated that he is not averse to contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and may take the step if the BJP offers him a ticket.
“Politics is the art of the possible,” Ranjit Chautala, an Independent MLA from Rania in Sirsa district, said.
The state’s power and jails minister said when he won from the Rania seat in the 2019 assembly elections, no one predicted that the BJP would fall short of the majority mark and need support to form the government.
Ranjit Chautala said he was the first to offer unconditional support to the BJP after it fell short of a majority.
In 2019, the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) and Independents extended support to the BJP after which it formed the government in Haryana.
“When I won the election, I did not know that I would have to support the BJP two hours later … Today, I have a certain comfort level with the BJP and they also trust me a lot,” Ranjit Chautala said.
“If the BJP offers, I can consider,” he said about contesting the Lok Sabha polls.
Ranjit Chautala, however, ruled out contesting the polls as an Independent.
“I want to state this clearly that I can fight the Vidhan Sabha (elections) as an Independent but, in the Lok Sabha, there will be a direct fight between the BJP and the Congress (in Haryana),” he said.
The Haryana minister also indicated his preference for Hisar if he is to contest the general elections.
At the same time, he said the Chautala family has received a lot of love and affection in Haryana and people have backed its members wherever they entered the fray.
“For our family, there is no barrier. Chaudhary Devi Lal became an MP from Sonipat, Rohtak, and he had once defeated Congress stalwart Balram Jakhar in Rajasthan’s Sikar,” he said.
“(Ranjit Chautala’s nephew) Ajay (Chautala) was elected as MP from Bhiwani. From our family, at present, Naina (Chautala) is MLA from the Badhra segment while (Deputy Chief Minister) Dushyant (Chautala) is the legislator from Uchana. Our family can contest from anywhere and win,” he said.
The BJP and the JJP — headed by Ajay Chautala — have been non-committal on if they would contest the 2024 Lok Sabha and the assembly polls in an alliance. In case the parties contest separately, Ranjit Chautala is likely to emerge as the saffron party’s choice from one of the 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
The BJP has 41 MLAs in the 90-member Haryana Assembly while the Congress has 30 and the JJP 10. Six of the seven Independent MLAs support the BJP-led government. The Haryana Lokhit Party, which supports the Khattar government, and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) have one MLA each.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won all 10 seats in Haryana.
Ranjit Chautala is former deputy prime minister Devi Lal’s son and the brother of INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala.
Meanwhile, Ranjit Chautala announced that he will host the followers of Devi Lal and other common people for lunch in Sirsa on the birth anniversary of the former deputy prime minister on September 25.
He also plans to hold a rally in Devi Lal’s memory in Hisar in February and invite the prime minister, home minister, chief minister and other top BJP leaders.
Asked about the opposition INDIA bloc, Ranjit Chautala said there is no leader who has the stature of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Today, the BJP is a strong and the largest party and other parties are facing threats to their existence. Hence, its rivals are looking at how to survive in this scenario. So, coming together has become a compulsion rather than being driven by any common ideology,” he said.
Parties such as the INLD, which opposed the Congress all along, too are contemplating being a part of this “baraat”, which already has 40-odd leaders.
Ranjit Chautala also heaped praise on Modi and said India’s prestige rose globally under his government.
“Be it any issue, the entire world waits to see what India has to say on that … global leaders praised India and Modi over the successful hosting of the G20 Summit,” he said.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)