Om Prakash Chautala: Five-Time Haryana Chief Minister Who Passed Class 10 and 12 Exams at 87

Chandigarh, December 20 (NationPress) The president of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and five-time Chief Minister of Haryana, Om Prakash Chautala, known for his family's long-standing influence in the state's politics predominantly among rural Jat voters, passed away in Gurugram due to a cardiac arrest on Friday.

He was 89 years old and had successfully completed his Class 10 and 12 examinations two years prior. After suffering a cardiac arrest at his residence, he was taken to Medanta Hospital but unfortunately did not survive.

According to family sources, Chautala's cremation will take place at Teja Khera in Sirsa district on Saturday afternoon. His body will be available for public homage from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his sorrow on X, stating, “I am deeply saddened by the passing of former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala ji. His active participation in state politics for many years was commendable, and he consistently worked to further the legacy of Chaudhary Devi Lal.

Chautala was the son of former Deputy Prime Minister Chaudhary Devi Lal.

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini also conveyed his condolences, remarking, “The contributions made by Chautala to state politics will always be honored.”

INLD spokesperson Rakesh Sihag reported that the former chief minister felt unwell earlier in the day, and sadly, the cardiac arrest claimed his life.

Om Prakash Chautala's wife, Sneh Lata, passed away in August 2019. Chautala is survived by three daughters and two sons, Abhay Singh Chautala and Ajay Singh Chautala.

Abhay, a former MLA from Ellenabad, served as the Leader of Opposition in the state Legislative Assembly from October 2014 to March 2019.

The Chaudhary Devi Lal family has governed the state seven times, with Devi Lal serving as Chief Minister twice and his son Om Prakash Chautala holding the position five times since December 1989.

Om Prakash Chautala's longest tenure lasted from March 2000 to March 2005. Following this period, the INLD emerged as the primary opposition party in the 2014 elections, securing 19 seats in the Assembly. In the last Assembly session, the party had only one legislator, Abhay Chautala, who faced defeat in the 2024 polls.

Over the past decade, the political dynamics of the state, significantly influenced by the Jat community, have shifted dramatically since the BJP ascended to power in 2014 and maintained its winning streak in 2024.

Following a dispute within the INLD, Om Prakash Chautala's grandson Dushyant divided the party in 2018 and established the JJP.

The INLD and its splinter group, the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), which played a crucial role in the 2019 Assembly elections, faced substantial losses in the October polls.

The Jat community, accounting for approximately 27 percent of the electorate and historically the traditional support base for regional parties, has shifted allegiance—an alteration that proved detrimental for both the INLD and the JJP.

While the election results were a significant blow to Dushyant Chautala, his younger brother, Arjun Chautala, managed to defeat an Independent candidate and sitting legislator Ranjit Chautala—an outcome that may suggest that hope is not entirely lost for the party.

Ranjit Chautala, who previously served as a Cabinet minister in the prior BJP government, is a brother of Om Prakash Chautala.

Both regional parties, dominated by patriarchs, have lost their hold on power, especially in rural regions, with their prominent leaders Abhay Singh Chautala of the INLD and his nephew Dushyant Chautala of the JJP suffering defeats.

Interestingly, the JJP, which governed alongside the outgoing BJP administration led by Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar for four and a half years, struggled to win any seats or establish a significant voter base across Haryana, marking a considerable setback.

In the recent Assembly elections, the INLD allied with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), while the JJP collaborated with the Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram).

A special Central Bureau of Investigation court in Delhi sentenced the Chautalas, including Om Prakash, and eight others to ten years in prison on January 22, 2013, after they were found guilty of illegally recruiting 3,206 junior basic trained teachers in 2000.

He was released from Tihar Jail in July 2021. Remarkably, Om Prakash Chautala passed his Class 10 and 12 exams at the age of 87, receiving his mark sheets from the Haryana board.

In 2021, Chautala took the Class 12 exams under the Haryana Open Board. However, his results were withheld due to his failure in a Class 10 English exam. To obtain his Class 12 results, he had to retake the Class 10 exam.

He scored an impressive 88 out of 100 in the English paper during his Class 10 examination last year.

Aside from English, he completed his Class 10 exams through the National Institute of Open School while serving a ten-year sentence in Tihar Jail in connection with the recruitment scandal.

(You can reach out to Vishal Gulati at vishal.g@ians.in)