Indian National Lok Dal - INLD veteran Om Prakash Chautala may contest the upcoming Haryana assembly polls against his grandson Digvijay Chautala from the Dabwali seat in the Bangar region of the state.
A five-time Chief Minister and seven-time MLA OP Chautala can return to power after a hiatus of 20 years. Chautala recently completed his jail sentence for a teacher recruitment scam and has sought permission from the Delhi High Court to contest the assembly elections. He was last seen in the political battle in 2005.
OP Chautala could set the tone with Dabwali:
Chautala’s approval from the court will allow him to announce his candidacy for the Dabwali seat. In such a case Chautala will be fielded against his grandson, Digvijay Chautala who is contesting from JJP.
In a turn of events, Digvijay has reportedly declared that if his grandfather will contest from Dabwali, then he will leave the political battle altogether.
However, the BJP may field OP Chautala's nephew Aditya Chautala from Dabwali, while Congress has given a ticket to Aditya’s nephew and sitting MLA Amit Sihag through family relations. In such a situation, members of the Chautala family will be seen fighting among themselves on the Dabwali seat.
Chautala an 89-year-old veteran leader has asked permission on the same account after former MLA Sher Singh Barshami, who also was taken into custody with him, was later granted permission to contest the elections. Although there is a difference in the time of punishment of Barshami and Chautala, however, since the cases are almost similar, the possibility of approval is considered quite strong.
INLD recently announced Barshami, to contest from Ladwa. He also last contested in the assembly elections from Rodi in 2005.
Chances of OP Chautala getting permission?
According to the Representation of the People Act, Om Prakash Chautala cannot contest any election for six years from his release.
So, according to this Chautala will be able to contest any election in 2027. However, Section 11 of this law provides an option to file a petition, in which the six years of not being able to contest elections can be reduced or completely abolished.
In a similar case earlier, the Election Commission, as per its powers, reduced the ban on Sikkim Chief Minister and Krantikari Morcha leader Prem Singh Tamang from contesting elections for six years to 13 months after his corruption conviction. However, ECI cannot decide or grant permission to an individual to contest the elections.
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