The conviction of Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) supremo Om Parkash Chautala and his son Ajay Chautala by a CBI court has come at the worst possible time for the party and had changed the political scene of Haryana. The arrest of Mr Chautala and his son has come at a time when the INLD was trying to galvanise itself for the Lok Sabha polls next year and thereafter the state Assembly elections later in the year.
The INLD has suddenly become a rudderless ship with arrest of O.P. Chautala who is also Opposition Leader in the House and of Sher Singh Badshami deputy-leader of Opposition also convicted in the case, the party will be left without a leader in the Assembly when it meets on Febru-ary 22.
If the CBI court announces the quantum of punishment the father-son duo will be re rendered ineligible to contest Vidhan Sabha or parliamentary polls next year, posing the party with serious problems.
Already the Haryana Janhit Congress led by Kuldeep Singh Bishnoi is trying to capture the space of main Opposition party in the state.
The INLD was hopeful of an alliance with the BJP despite the latter announcing decision to go with the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC).
With the conviction of the main leadership, the BJP is sure to stay with the HJC, ending all speculation of a political re-alignment. What would now be interesting to watch is the jats reaction to the Chautalas’ conviction and whether they would change the way they vote.